Oakland Firefighters
RANDOM ACTS BLOG

The fire crews at Station 16 were on a camping trip in Livermore, CA when they met the Godinez Family who was camping next to them. Mom was raising four (4) daughters by herself and, at the moment, lived in a 2-bedroom apartment with her in-laws. Mom and the girls shared a bed in one bedroom. Thus, the camping trip and need for some space. The crew learned that the family’s apartment on 98th & Bancroft in Oakland was burned up in a fire a few months back, and the family lost almost all that they had. They were in need of basic school supplies, uniform clothes for the upcoming school year, shoes, underwear, personal hygiene supplies, and more. The Firefighters were very impressed with the family for their selflessness and good hearts and really wanted to help them out, so they submitted a request to Random Acts. On August 10th, the Godinez family visited Station 16 and were showered with gifts including backpacks with school supplies, bikes, skateboards, scooters, roller skates, toys and stuffed animals. Mom received some toiletries and a $500 Walmart gift card to purchase school uniforms and other necessities. The response was emotional, tearful and grateful from a family that inspired everyone with their smiles and remained positive and cheerful during a very difficult time. Thank you guys at 16 for your Random Act of Kindness. Nice going.

Watch this video of Station 16′s Random Act for the Godinez Family -
OFD Sta. 16 Random Act for Godinez Family

17 year-old Calvin has cancer and missed his school prom at McClymonds High School because of his diagnosis. His social worker at Oakland Children’s Hospital contacted Random Acts after she did some research and found a non-profit organization called Shiri Foundation that puts on proms for kids with cancer who missed or were not able to attend their proms due to their medical condition. Random Acts got Calvin the tuxedo, the corsage for his date, and a boutonniere for his lapel. The fire crew from Station 5 delivered the tuxedo to Calvin which he had picked out, and they threw in some spending money for him out of their pockets. Black Tie Transportation donated the limousine ride to San Francisco. (Thank You Black Tie!!) This was kept a secret from Calvin because his mom wanted it to be a surprise. So, on the evening of the prom when he asked his mom how he was going to get there, she pointed to an old dilapidated pick-up truck that was parked out in front of their apartment and told him he was going in that. So, you can imagine his amazement when the shiny black stretch limousine pulled up. And, he wasn’t the only one in shock. All his neighbors we’re going crazy with excitement too because this was the first time they had ever seen a limousine in their neighborhood. Total strangers were taking pictures of Calvin and the limo. He was definitely the man of the hour, and his chauffeur drove him off in style to the prom. ABC-TV News did a story that evening about the Shiri Foundation Prom, and there was Calvin on TV dancing the night away.

Last Sunday, Capt. Bob Nylander and Station 20 responded to a classroom fire at Sobrante Park Elementary School. Today, Station 20 returned to the school to bring some gifts and some healing to the students and their teacher, Ms. Becerra, who were using a temporary classroom on their last day of school. The stuffed animals were especially healing for the children. When one of the students noticed that a teacher looked close to tears, he went up to her and said, “You look sad. I think you need a stuffed animal”. And, he gave the teacher his stuffed animal. That really brought her to tears.  Random Acts fulfilled most of the items on the teacher’s Wish List for the class with things that we already had in stock – books, office supplies, canvas school bags filled with school supplies for each child, crayons, coloring books, pencils, a new office chair, a CD player, and stuffed animals. In the Fall when school opened, Random Acts took Ms. Becerra on a shopping spree to purchase the rest of the items on her Wish List.