April 7, 2009
For immediate release

NEWS RELEASE

Contact: Battalion Chief Jason Hershcopf
Phone: 301-657-5557
E-mail: membership@bccrs.org

Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad Launches Recruiting Drive

Squad celebrates National Volunteer Appreciation Week, April 19 - 25.

Weekend duty is a new option for busy volunteers.

The Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad, one of the nation's most advanced and best trained rescue squads, is launching a membership drive to recruit new volunteer members. The Rescue Squad invites men and women 18 years or older who want to experience the excitement of responding to emergency calls and serving the community to volunteer a minimum of 12 hours a week as Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs), Paramedics, and Firefighters.

The Rescue Squad has an extremely diverse membership that includes people of all ages and cultural backgrounds, and professions ranging from accountants to full-time parents and government employees to school teachers. The Rescue Squad’s 150 volunteers make a valuable contribution to the community, and they gain essential training and rewarding life experiences.

New Option for Busy Volunteers

Applicants need no prior experience or training to join the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad. Volunteers are needed at the station either one night per week from 7:00 PM until 7:00 AM, or each Saturday from 8:00 AM until 6:00 PM. “Saturday daytime duty is a new option available to volunteers who prefer not to have to sleep at the station overnight,” stated Battalion Chief Jason Hershcopf. “Prospective EMTs, Paramedics, and Firefighters receive free, professional training at the Montgomery County Public Safety Training Academy, as well as annual physicals. Members have opportunities to receive further specialized training in such areas as emergency medicine, firefighting, swift-water rescue, and rope rescue.”

For information on volunteering, call the membership hotline at 301-657-5557, email membership@bccrs.org, or visit www.bccrs.org. The Rescue Squad’s current recruiting drive runs through September, although the Squad recruits volunteer members year-round and welcomes applications for membership anytime.

National Volunteer Appreciation Week

This year the Rescue Squad observes National Volunteer Appreciation Week from April 19 to 25. National Volunteer Appreciation Week was created in 1974 by executive order of President Richard Nixon as an annual celebration of volunteering.

About the Rescue Squad

Now in its 69th year, the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad is a community-supported non-profit organization that provides, at no charge to the recipient, professional fire, rescue, and emergency medical services to the Bethesda-Chevy Chase, Maryland area, as well as Upper Northwest Washington, D.C. The spirit, commitment, dedication, and operational skills of its members are the defining characteristics of the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad. The Squad provides the community with the security and peace of mind that comes with emergency services that are among the best in the United States.

The Rescue Squad does not receive regular budgeted funds from any government. Instead, the Squad raises almost all of its $1.9 million operating budget from individual donors, foundations, businesses, and occasional state and federal grants. The Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad is registered under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and contributions to the Squad are tax-deductible as allowable by law.

                                                                          ###

To receive email updates on this and other Rescue Squad issues, click here to sign up for our email newsletter.  

Return to Newsroom.