‘Our community is pretty fantastic’: Firefighter car wash raises hundreds for charities

Firefighters in Caerphilly have raised hundreds of pounds for charity after hosting a community car wash at the town’s fire station.

Held on May 23, the event raised a total of £820, with the money split evenly between The Fire Fighters Charity and the Aber Valley FC Foodbank, with each receiving £410.

More than 20 fire service staff members gave up their time on the sweltering Saturday afternoon to give something back, with hundreds of motorists paying what they could to get their car washed.

Organisers thanked everyone who turned out to support the fundraiser, which was organised by fire station crew manager Wayne Corvil.

Retired firefighter Sharon Mock was among the volunteers, and described the event as “absolutely amazing”.

“I was dressed up as a horse, galloping up and down Pontygwindy Road dragging people in to get their car washed,” she said.

“I want to thank everyone who came along, because without them we wouldn’t have that amount of money. There were hundreds of people – our community is pretty fantastic, we’re so lucky.”

Andrew Hart, who runs Aber Valley Foodbank, told Caerphilly Observer how important this fundraiser was for the food bank: “It’s much needed. With grants and everything drying up, events like this help secure the food bank.

“Demand’s gone up massively, and it’s working people who are asking for food parcels. We’ve got nurses and teachers asking us.

“We’re averaging between 20 and 40 food parcels a week.”

Mr Hart continued: “We rely on events like this, and the community giving back, to keep us ticking over.

“It’s taken a massive weight off our shoulders because we have to try and look for money all the time. There were a lot of firefighters involved and they did an incredible job, they’ve helped us massively.”

The food bank, which is based at the Aber Hotel in Abertridwr, was set up in 2020. It has five volunteers, who are involved in fundraising, buying food, and confidentially delivering the parcels to those in need across the Aber Valley and Penyrheol wards.

Discussing the impact of the rising cost of living, Mr Hart explained. “The food prices now, compared to when we started, is astronomical. Our food parcels then would average around £40 per parcel, now you’re looking upwards of £70.”