Front Line Strong sees overwhelming community support

After Perkins County’s recent encounter with COVID-19, a group of women in the area got together to form Front Line Strong, a group dedicated to helping front line workers.

Front Line Strong was officially created on Monday, July 26 by Ashley Colglazier, Deanne Bishop, Angela Gloy and Lauren Klima. By Monday, they had set up a bank account and a Facebook page titled “Front Line Strong - Perkins County, NE” for the cause.

The goal for this cause is to support front line workers in Perkins County. This includes workers in entities such as Perkins County Health Services, Grant Medical Clinic, Golden Ours Convalescent Home, Park Ridge Assisted Living, Westview Retirement Community, Colglazier Demmel Medical Clinic and Perkins County Emergency Personnel.

Colglazier said she and her husband had been thinking about ways to help Golden Ours. One of the first things she did, at the advice of her father-in-law Dr. Cliff Colglazier, was create yard signs to place in public.

She presented the opportunity to the girls in her 4-H group, and together they made signs supporting front line workers.

Colglazier began talking to an employee she knows at Golden Ours, asking what she can do to help. She was directed to other community members who had also been interested in helping front line workers in some way.

Together, Colglazier, Bishop, Gloy and Klima formed Front Line Strong. They had a committee meeting on Sunday, July 26 and the next day they hit the ground running.

The first thing the group did was provide some nutrition for Golden Ours employees on their breaks. Employees received a different snack each day of the week.

Monday, In & Out provided breakfast pizzas. Tuesday, they received vegetables, granola bars and protein bars. Employees received meat and cheese and fruit trays from Hatch’s. Little Bluestem donated cookies, and Front Line Strong purchased cinnamon rolls from them for employees on Thursday. To end the week, employees received more fruit and meat and cheese trays from Hatch’s.

Monday, August 3, Front Line Strong took gift bags to lab workers containing products from Soulful Salvage.

They also provided snacks for the Grant Volunteer Fire Department to eat during their training Monday evening. Madrid’s firefighters received snacks from the General Store and Dollar General, and a $5 gift card to the Hi-Line Co-op convenience store in Elsie.

Tuesday, Venango firefighters had their meal paid for at Middle of Nowhere by Front Line Strong since the fire department typically has a meal together after meetings and training.

The Elsie Volunteer Fire Department will also receive some goodies at their next meeting, but a date has not yet been set.

The committee will continue to work its way through Perkins County, providing tangible favors for local front line workers to make their days a little easier.

Since creating the bank account on the morning of July 27, Front Line Strong has received a total of $2,960 in monetary donations. This does not include the value of items donated to the cause.

Some item donations have come from Tjaden Beef, Ogallala Natural Beef, In & Out, Little Bluestem, Hatch’s, Soulful Salvage, Lori Perlinger’s Mary and Martha business, Ashley Mastre’s Lemongrass Spa business and Renee Marquardt’s Mary Kay business.

Perkins County USDA Service Center in Grant raised $465 to donate to Front Line Strong. They also made two yard signs to place on the highway in support of the cause.

Both Colglazier and Bishop said they “weren’t surprised” at the community’s support for this cause. Bishop said the support is overwhelming, and it is good to see local front line workers being backed by their community.

“It’s why we call Perkins County home,” said Colglazier.

For those interested in contributing, donations can be mailed to Ashley Colglazier at P.O. Box 495, Grant, Nebraska 69140. They can also be dropped off directly to Pinnacle Bank to the Frong Line Strong account. The committee asks that any checks be made payable to “Front Line Strong.”

The committee is also accepting donations in the form of items for front line workers. Some examples of item donations have been candles, body scrubs and snacks.

Items can be donated by contacting any of the committee members directly, or they can be reached through the organization’s Facebook page.

Monetary donations are being used to not only support front line workers, but local businesses as well. Donations will be used to purchase products from local businesses that will be given to front line workers.

Overall, the goal is to provide a tangible way to help ease the burdens of front line workers, such as meals, gift cards, nourishing snacks and gift baskets.

“We’re just a week into it,” said Bishop, noting they will continue to reach out to local businesses, and businesses who have not yet been contacted can reach out to the committee to make a donation.