Zeman students honor rescue crews on Patriot Day

Zeman Elementary School students expressed their gratitude to Lincoln Fire and Rescue crews today with gifts of flowers, artwork and large smiles.
 
Members of Lincoln Fire and Rescue (LFR) Station #6 visited K-5 students at Zeman as part of a community outreach effort on Patriot Day. They showed them the different parts of a fire engine and ambulance, answered questions about their jobs and gave encouraging smiles, high fives and fist bumps.
 
Fifth graders Cassandra, Kajah and Phoenix said they were happy to talk with LFR crews. Their class gave crew members Amanda Morgan, Malik Knox and Brian Jones pink and yellow carnations and a full packet of personalized artwork. They said it was important to say thank you to emergency members for their lifesaving work in the Zeman neighborhood.
 
“We learned that they go around helping people even if there’s a little thing, and they risk their own lives every day doing it,” Kajah said. “I think they do it because they want to spread kindness.”
 
“It was really cool,” Cassandra said. “I like how this small thing, just making artwork for people, turned into this big thing.”
 
“It’s pretty special because we get to give them to the firefighters because they do so much for us,” Phoenix said.

LFR Public Information Officer M.J. Lierman said it was especially meaningful to come to Zeman on Wednesday. Members of Congress approved a joint resolution in December 2001 to designate Sept. 11 of each year as Patriot Day. Non-profit organizations developed the idea for a national day of service in 2002, and Congress approved an official designation for a “national day of service and remembrance” in 2009.

“What we would really like to focus on is the day of service and that feeling of everybody joining in and being neighbor helping neighbor, doing things for your community, being patriotic,” Lierman said. “The 9/11 day of service is what Lincoln Fire and Rescue is promoting today and throughout the rest of the month and as long as we get it rolling. We’d like to build on this every year doing more with the schools, teaching service opportunities and just being good people and good neighbors and good community members.”
 
Zeman Principal Rudi Wolfe asked Station #6 members to come to Zeman for several reasons. She felt students would be able to form positive bonds with them and learn about the critical work they do for others. She also wanted to ensure students could see how much it means when someone thanks another person with acts of kindness.
 
“It’s important because it serves as a way for students to see that firefighters and rescue crews are there for them,” Wolfe said. “I think it gives them a sense of safety and security knowing that it’s a safe person when you see someone in an emergency uniform. If we teach them early on about what firefighters and rescue crews do for all of us, then I think it can really build a lot of confidence and inspiration for our students.”
 
Lierman said emergency crews enjoy meeting students throughout the year. Jake Wilderman, a three-year member of LFR, showcased that joy by giving high fives to Zeman kindergarteners as they walked around the side of an ambulance.
 
“We like to show them that we’re just like regular people, like your mom, like your dad, like your teachers, but sometimes we might be dressed like this,” Lierman said. “Especially as they get younger, we do this a lot, we go all over the community, but today we’re really focusing on it at all of the schools.”
 
Zeman students gave their artwork to emergency crews as part of a kindness unit in their art classes. Students spent several lessons watching videos about the good works that other people have done. Cassandra said they learned that one person donated proceeds from his artwork to charity, and another person gave food to the homeless in their community.
 
Kajah said she and her classmates were excited when they discovered they would be creating personalized pieces of art. The project also gave them a chance to discover that emergency crews handle all types of calls throughout the day and night.
 
“It was really fun because I thought we learned a lot about kindness and empathy, and it was very cool learning about firefighters and what they do,” Kajah said.
 
Morgan, Knox and Jones stood next to a fire engine as fifth graders lined up in front of them for the gift-giving ceremony. They displayed wide smiles when they saw what the students had done for them. All three said thank you to the group, and Jones said they would be hanging the artwork on the walls of the fire station later this week.
 
Phoenix and classmate Nora said their hearts filled with gladness when they watched the ceremony. Why did they feel it was fun to be a part of?
 
“Because they care for us a lot,” Phoenix said. “They’re at emergencies and they help us, so it felt good to give to them.”
 
“We enjoyed making the firefighters happy,” Nora said.
 
Lierman said she felt the visit and gifts of artwork strengthened bonds between Zeman students and Station #6 emergency crews.
 
“We are a community and a family within LFR and with our partners in all law enforcement and public service, so we just want to make everyone comfortable,” Lierman said. “In an emergency, there’s a sense of fear and danger, so when we can do these community events and go to the schools, it just helps ease the kids when there is an emergency. When they are scared, they know that we’re there to help them.”
 
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