Claremont, IL -(Effingham Radio)- COUNTRY Financial Representative Chuck Schmucker is pleased to announce Claremont-Bonpas Fire Department as a 2020 recipient of a COUNTRY Financial Operation Helping Heroes donation. The donation is being shared during “Stand Up for Grain Safety Week” and the $750 donation will assist Claremont-Bonpas firefighters purchase grain bin rescue equipment.
“As a farming community that heavily relies on volunteer firefighters, I’m pleased to assist in preparing the local fire department with necessary equipment to support both our firefighters and farmers,” said Schmucker. “There are many hazards in the grain handling industry, and helping my farm clients and these volunteers obtain the resources that they need to ensure the safety of our farming community is important to me.”
The National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) annual safety outreach effort, Stand Up for Grain Safety Week, is April 13-17. Stand Up for Grain Safety Week helps raise awareness about grain handling and storage hazards, provides education and training, and conveys safety best practices. The Department of Labor reports that grain handling safety is of particular concern this spring, as heavy rains in 2019 contributed to record floods across the central U.S., causing unprecedented delays in planting crops and resulting in the fall harvest being stored with a high moisture content increasing the possibility of grain clumping and molding. This may cause workers to enter bins to clear crops from sidewalls and augers to allow the grain to flow from the storage bin. Similar weather conditions in 2009 resulted in record numbers of injuries and deaths in the industry in 2010.
COUNTRY Financial will donate more than $3 million in 2020 to organizations and programs that support first responders, healthcare professionals and active duty service members, supporting the company’s vision to “enrich lives in the communities we serve.”
The Operation Helping Heroes program was created in 2015 to support non-profit events and programs that benefit active duty service members, veterans and their families. In 2019, COUNTRY Financial expanded the program and donated $700,000 to approximately 500 first responder and military organizations.
About COUNTRY Financial®
COUNTRY Financial serves about one million households and businesses throughout the United States and offers a full range of financial products and services from auto, home, business, farm and life insurance to retirement planning services, investment management and annuities.
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