Successful Gunflint Trail Volunteer Fire Department fundraising campaign

The lucky raffle winners are Colin Smith (from Iowa) for the kayak and Matt Ritter (Manager at Voyageurs Outfitters) for the beautiful quilt. Above, Matt and his fiancé Cassidy Bechtold display their colorful new quilt, which has 1,743 squares. Photo courtesy of Carol Berg

Without the Gunflint Trail Canoe Races or Mid-Trail Annual Auction & Flea Market this summer, our Gunflint Trail Volunteer Fire Department (GTVFD) faced a substantial financial shortfall. Essential to the safety of residents and visitors alike, the GTVFD provides critical services to the Gunflint Trail community. To help address this gap, volunteer property owners along the Gunflint Trail formed the Friends of the GTFD (Mid-Trail Property Owners Association, Gunflint Lake Property Owners Association & Seagull/Sag Property Owners Association) to organize creative fundraising activities.

Some donations are still coming in but preliminary results from our successful Gunflint Trail Safe Summer 2020 fundraiser indicate that over $57,500 was raised in contributions to the GTFD! This is truly amazing given the constraints of running this campaign in the middle of a pandemic! We are grateful for everyone who contributed from near and far, residents and visitors alike, to support the vital services of the GTVFD.

The fundraising activities included: developing a general GoFundMe site for the campaign that listed particular equipment and supply needs of the fire department; promoting direct donations to the GTFD; online sales of T-Shirts and masks with the special logo for our campaign; raffles for a kayak (Wenonah provided a significant discount) and a handmade quilt by the Mid-Trail Quilters (“Colors and Critters of the Gunflint” has 1,743 squares!); a first ever GTFD 2021 calendar with fun photos of the brave firefighters who serve the community; and a virtual Gunflint Woods, Winds, Strings and a Little Jazz concert (view it online at: youtu.be/96R7cVPsIx8).