More than 100 turn out for former fire chaplain’s fundraiser

Craig Bakay | Oct 26, 2017

“We thought a lot of (Central Frontenac Fire Department Chaplain) Shawn (Craven),” said District 4 Station Chief Bernie Quinn.

So it came as no surprise that when word came that Craven had been stricken with an illness that required a lot of expensive travel to hospital, the firefighters were only too willing to pitch in a help.
Last Saturday night, most of the District 4 detachment was busy making spaghetti for the more than 100 people who attended the fundraiser at the firehall on Wagarville Road.

“Shaun was the minister at Cole Lake Church,” Quinn said. “He took on a new ministry in New Brunswick which is right across the Bay of Fundy where his wife Michelle is originally from.”
Firefighter David Hole, one of the fundraiser organizers, said Craven’s medical condition requires treatment in Halifax and that meant a lot of travel expenses like staying in hotels in Halifax.
“We talked about this among the association members,” Hole said. “We’d done a spaghetti dinner in January so we had the machinery in place.

“Mike Dean’s (Grocery in Sharbot Lake) donated the buns, spaghetti and hamburger so all we had to get was some produce and we got community donations.”
Hole said Craven was there for the firefighters when they needed support in his 10 years as chaplain.

“He was chaplain for all of the Central Frontenac Fire Department,” Hole said. “He was there for anyone that had personal issues, medical issues, hospital visits, anything.
“Thankfully, he didn’t have any funerals to do.”

If you couldn’t make the fundraiser but would still like to contribute to the Shawn Craven fund, contact any District 4 firefighter, which includes Station 6 Piccadilly. (Or any Central Frontenac firefighter for that matter, they’ll point you in the right direction.)