COMMUNITY WARNING – Fake mailers divert donations away from fire department

In recent weeks, fundraising solicitations and requests for volunteer firefighters have been showing up all over PA. They are from a group called Volunteer Firefighter Alliance from Topeka, Kansas. A mailer from the “Volunteer Firefighter Alliance” was sent to a resident in Winona Lakes, which is a private community in Middle Smithfield Township. The pre-printed envelope instructs the recipient to send his or her donations to the alliance’s address in Topeka, Kansas, but no such organization has shared those donations with East Stroudsburg’s fire company. A similar scam was reported in the area this month. Stroud Township Volunteer Fire Department warned in early August that someone was falsely claiming to collect donations for the department via phone calls.  Residents are asked to be mindful of the actual sender.