By ERIN MILLER
By ERIN MILLER
Stephens Media
The drive behind the annual Daniel R. Sayre Memorial Foundation fundraiser is simple, Laura Mallery-Sayre says.
“The primary reason we’re doing this is because the Fire Department really needs our help,” she said. “In order to help them save lives, they need to have adequate equipment.”
The Fire Department does well with the equipment it has, she added.
“They can do even better with the latest and greatest technology,” Mallery-Sayre said.
This year’s fundraiser is undergoing a temporary format change. Instead of a buffet dinner, with both silent and live auctions, donors are asked to log on to the Daniel R. Sayre website, danielsayrefoundation.org, on Saturday and bid on silent auction items online. Donors may also make direct contributions or volunteer to purchase equipment on the website. Mallery-Sayre said she and her husband, Frank Sayre, recently added a new dentist and hygienist to their practice, and devoted their energy to growing the practice this year. That left less time to plan the auction, which Mallery-Sayre said would be back next year.
This is the 15th year the couple has put on the fundraiser, which is named in honor of their son, Daniel, who died in a hiking accident in Pololu Valley in 1997. The Sayres were so impressed with the Hawaii County firefighters and rescue workers, who risked their own lives to retrieve Daniel’s body from the valley floor 500 feet below, the couple began raising money to purchase newer, better rescue equipment.
Last year, the fundraiser brought in more than $107,000. In all, the foundation has raised more than $600,000, and secured pledges for another $400,000 in equipment donations.
Each year, the department provides the foundation with a list of items department officials hope the foundation will be able to provide. In recent years, many of the wish list items were for water safety, Mallery-Sayre said. The department took over the county’s lifeguard program several years ago, and when it did, the lifeguards didn’t have binoculars, megaphones and the rescue equipment they did have was wearing out, Mallery-Sayre said.
Items donors can win in the auction include gift certificates for restaurants, snorkel tours, therapeutic facials and a two-night stay at the Hilton Waikoloa Village.
Mallery-Sayre said the foundation’s success isn’t about what she and her husband do.
“What we’re doing is truly helping to save lives,” she said. “Our community really is making a difference. It’s a wonderful thing the community is doing.”
Email Erin Miller at emiller@westhawaiitoday.com.