FORT SMITH, Ark. — With summer heat on the rise in the River Valley, it can be difficult to find a moment of cool both outdoors and indoors. In efforts to keep the community cool, the Salvation Army of Fort Smith will begin collecting fans starting Monday, July 8.
"70% of everybody who gets a fan from the Salvation Army in the summer has an underlying medical condition, and that's the only way they are cooling their home," Capt. Bradley Hargis with the Salvation Army said.
In some cases, Hargis said these fans can be the difference between life and death.
"I do know that just last year, there was a lady that came back in September," he said. "I know it's still hot in Arkansas in September, but she came back and she literally said, 'You guys saved my life with the fan that you gave. We didn't know what we were going to do.'"
If you wish to donate to the Salvation Army's annual fan drive, all you need to do is buy a fan at any Yeager Ace Hardware store in the River Valley.
"The cool thing about buying it at Yeager's is they do not charge tax on the fan, so you can get it cheaper there," Hargis said. "They also price match, and so they are cheaper than anywhere in town."
Yeager's and the Salvation Army will take it from there. Hargis said Yeager's will hold on to the donated fans until the drive is over.
"We go pick them up at the end of the week, and then we start distributing them the following week," he said.
Although the program is simple, Hargis says the donations go a long way in helping a lot of people.
"I think sometimes we truly just forget that there are seniors out there really struggling, and they're not going to run their air because they can't afford to," he said. "I think sometimes this is a forgotten narrative in the summer."
The Salvation Army says it hopes to collect 550 fans between Monday, July 8, and Saturday, July 13.
Watch 5NEWS on YouTube.
Download the 5NEWS app on your smartphone:
Stream 5NEWS 24/7 on the 5+ app: How to watch the 5+ app on your streaming device
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com and detail which story you're referring to.