Firefighter calendar brings coats to children
For this job, firefighter Travis Unrein dropped the heavy duty coats and axes. In fact, he even gave away the shirt off his back.
All in the name of a photograph. All in the name of a good cause.
Unrein - or Mr. May, as he can now be called - is one of the eye candy selected for the Kansas Firefighters calendar. Money from the calendars sold aids the Coats for Kids fundraiser.
"I thought it was just a great thing to be a part of," Unrein said. "That's why we become firefighters, is to help people. It's just another way to help somebody."
The fundraiser provides coats to homeless children and families affected by low or loss of income. A year ago, more than 600 children were helped.
The photoshoot was a simple decision for Unrein, a firefighter for the U.S. Forest Service in Elkhart.
"We just do it because it goes to a good cause. We try to make it as fun as possible," he said. "There is no other reason to do it, if it's not fun and benefiting.
The calendar was unveiled at the Kansas Firefighters Museum in Wichita. Calendars can be purchased at the museum. Coats can be dropped off at the museum, as well as Sedgwick County and Wichita fire stations.
The museum also hopes to expand. The current building was constructed in 1910, and has been filled up with artifacts.
"We'd like to build another building," said B.K. Owens, president of the Kansas Firefighters Museum. "We've talked to the parks department with the city, and we have permission to build out here. We plan to build somewhere in the neighborhood of a 6,000-square-foot building."
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