The support organization for the Greenville Fire Department has undergone an overhaul, with a new name and organizational structure, and registration as an official 501(c)(3) charity is pending.

Under the name Greenville Firefighter’s Foundation, the organization’s mission is to support the department and its volunteer membership, including organizing fundraising to purchase equipment or supplies not covered in the town budget.

Mark Winslow, the secretary for the foundation, said a previous organization, under the name Defender Fire Company, was serving a similar purpose. In recent years, Defender Fire has purchased things like a Conex container box, which the department uses to store excess equipment due to a lack of storage space in the fire station. They have also recently donated a set of cordless Dewalt tools for the department’s new engine, and replaced the department’s 10-year-old thermal imaging camera with two new ones.

“Those are the things that the Greenville Firefighter Foundation is going to continue to try to do,” Winslow said.

Defender Fire raised funds for these purchases through fundraisers such as raffles, and the Greenville Firefighter Foundation will do the same.

Winslow said that over the years, paperwork such as membership rules for Defender Fire have been lost entirely, and the organization did not keep up with the requirements to be a registered charity. The members of the organization decided to start from scratch with a new name and organizational structure, which will include a board of directors,and community volunteers for committees for tasks such as individual fundraisers.

Winslow said the group has applied for 501(c)(3) status, which would allow donations to the group to be tax-deductible, and anticipates receiving that status by the end of the month. Also pending is registration with the state’s Charitable Trust Unit.

Those who are interested in volunteering with the Greenville Firefighter’s Foundation may contact the group through its Facebook page.

Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172, Ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on X @AshleySaariMLT.