Kiwanis point-5-K to help fund Jacksonville fire safety house

A Saturday morning point-5-K in Jacksonville will help pay for a new fire safety house for the Jacksonville Fire Department, turning a short community run into a down payment on a larger public-safety project. The Jacksonville Kiwanis Club’s 15th annual run/walk is set for September 12, with Alison Yording and Marcy Patterson co-chairing the event and the walk expected to start about 11 a.m.

The fundraiser will carry a patriotic “Red, White and Brave” theme tied to the Sept. 11 weekend, and organizers are encouraging participants to dress creatively in fire-themed clothing or red, white and blue. What gives the event its practical edge is where the money is headed: Fire Chief Matt Summers estimates the new fire safety house will cost about $100,000, and Patterson said the Kiwanis donation of about $10,000 should help the department qualify for grants that can cover the larger project.

The Jacksonville Fire Department already uses education as one of its main prevention tools. Its public education efforts include a Fire Safety House, the Fire Pup program for K-4 students, fire safety presentations from preschool through collegiate level, fire extinguisher classes and a free smoke detector program. The department also says it is working to develop and build a new fire safety training trailer, due in 2027, to teach children and young adults about in-home fire safety and prevention.

That work fits the department’s warning that youth are the most vulnerable segment of the population and that early education can help prevent future tragedies. The new fire safety house would add another hands-on way to teach escape methods and prevention, especially for children who may never otherwise encounter that kind of instruction outside the classroom or a public event.

The Kiwanis club’s role also reflects a long service tradition in Jacksonville. The club says it was chartered in 1921 and is more than 100 years old, with a mission centered on serving children in the community. The point-5-K has become part fundraiser and part local custom, but this year’s race ties that tradition to a concrete result: a local donation that can help trigger outside funding for a fire education project with reach well beyond race day.

The grant structure matters too. The Illinois Fire Safety Alliance’s Prevention Matters Grant program supports Illinois fire departments that expand fire safety and burn prevention work, including fire safety trailer purchase or rehabilitation, with requests ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 and about 4 to 6 grants awarded in the 2026 cycle. FEMA says its Fire Prevention and Safety grant program has awarded about $888 million since fiscal 2002, underscoring why a small local fundraiser can have leverage when a department pursues bigger safety funding.