FORT MYERS, Fla. — Hundreds of people gathered in downtown Fort Myers to honor the first responders here in Southwest Florida.
The non-profit Gary Sinise Foundation (GSF) hosted the event Sunday right in the heart of Fort Myers.
"Unfortunately there's always a few that step over the line, and everyone takes the brunt of it, but not today, today we are telling our first responders, including our police officers that we appreciate them and love them," said Fort Myers Mayor Kevin Anderson.
The Gary Sinise Foundation was founded right after 9/11.
Sunday the non-profit hosted it's First Responder Appreciation Day, in partnership with Sunbelt Rentals for Southwestern Florida First Responders and their families in the wake of Hurricane Ian.
GSF presented more than $240,000 in First Responders Outreach grants to first responders in and around surrounding communities to aid in the recovery, along with another $52,000 in HOPE (heal, overcome, persevere, excel) grants to help local first responders and veterans in the Fort Myers-area whose homes were damaged, recover with financial assistance.
"We have all been working overtime, we have all been through quite a bit," said Sanibel Fire Chief Kevin Barbot. "So for us to be able to come out here and bring our families out here and bring the public out here and just enjoy in the day off, is an incredible feeling."
When speaking with Chief Barbot he explained how the GSF reached out to the department to lend a helping hand right after the storm.
"We had some equipment that was washed away and had been flooded one of which was a cardiac monitor," Chief Barbot said.
That equipment had a $42,000 price tag and Chief Barbot said that the GSF quickly agreed to cover the cost.
While at the event, Fox 4 also met the mother of twelve, Dawn Kohler.
"I have one...Chloe here who wants to be a first responder, she would like to be a police officer," said Kohler.
Kohler said she brought her children to the event to meet and interact with the first responders so they can be exposed to the people that keep the people of Southwest Florida safe.
"So they can see that they[ first responders] are just human beings. They are just human beings that took the extra steps to make America safe," Kohler said.
