Summer 2026 has been one thus far that has put stress and burden upon Central Pennsylvania’s first responders. Whether it be excessive heat, violent storm damage or water rescue emergencies, volunteer companies have felt summer’s worst and responded for the greater community.
Knights of Columbus Council 3501 of Seven Sorrows Parish in Middletown decided to launch its Hydrate Our Heroes Campaign, which sought bottled water donations to help fire and rescue departments in the greater Middletown area. Their initial goal was 40 cases of water to be distributed to seven surrounding companies, including a federal rescue agency that serves Harrisburg International Airport.
According to Matthew Sheaffer, a Knight who helped spearhead the collection and distribution of the water, within a week of beginning the collection, “our expectations were far exceeded by the overwhelming support and generosity of parishioners, and the business and grocery store community…. It has been a busy emergency season and the response by everybody has been great.”
Nearly 350 cases of water were donated, with much of the water being of premium quality, so that each company will have enough water until the weather turns cooler. On a sunny, Sunday, July 19, fire and rescue trucks began rolling into Seven Sorrows School’s parking lot where more than 50 volunteers of all ages loaded up each company’s trucks.
“The old saying goes that where there is a need, there is a Knight. That was very true in this case,” Sheaffer said.
The Middletown Council has 135 members, and many were there to support the Hydrate Our Heroes project. Not only did the donations go to local fire departments, but the Diocesan Camp at Kirchenwald, a long-running camp held every August to serve adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, also received 40 cases of water.
So far this summer, the thermometer has touched 100 twice and 99 twice; since 1880 when weather records began in Harrisburg, temps have only hit the century mark 62 times in that 146-year-span, with only four occasions of three days straight of century-mark readings.
Thanks to the generous parishioners and Middletown-area businesses, if the temps soar again, first responder heroes who serve us well in emergencies will be amply hydrated doing so.
(Photos by Chris Heisey, The Catholic Witness.)
By Chris Heisey, The Catholic Witness
