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Community Corner

Mentor Fire Department Launches Donation Drive

Firefighters Partner with Channel 19 and Levin's Furniture to Collect Donations of Food, Clothing and Toys Today for Needy Families throughout Northeast Ohio

When you're driving along Mentor Avenue late this afternoon, don't be alarmed if you see ladder truck 1159 in front of at 7799 Mentor Avenue.

But you won't see any smoke. Instead, you'll see Mentor firefighters working for Santa for a few hours.

The Mentor Fire Department has partnered with Channel 19 to launch a new "Share Your Holiday" campaign to collect food, clothing and toys for needy Northeast Ohio families.

Find out what's happening in Mentorwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Channel 19 will be broadcasting live today from Mentor during its 4 p.m., 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. newscasts. Mentor's ladder truck, from Fire Station 3 at 7957 Mentor Avenue, will be on display to attract passers-by on Mentor Avenue.

"We will be helping Channel 19 out with collecting donations from the public," said Mentor Fire Department's Public Education Specialist Nathan Peters. "We will have everything set up before 4 p.m. and we expect to be on hand until 6:30 p.m. We're encouraging people to drop by and donate items such a non-perishable foods, new or gently worn clothing such as coats and new toys."

Find out what's happening in Mentorwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

All donations will be distributed to the Salvation Army, the City Mission and the Cleveland Foodbank.

Throughout this week, Channel 19 also is holding additional donation drives in Highland Heights, Garfield Heights, Avon and Cleveland in partnership with other businesses such as KeyBank, AT&T, Tim Misny and Associates and the Arts & Science Preparatory Academy.

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