The 2018 Redhead 5K Run/Walk was a huge success! The run took place at St. Peter Lutheran Church. Proceeds will go to the Kevin R. Schwiebert Memorial Fund. The Kevin R. Schwiebert Memorial Fund was established in December 2014 to honor Kevin’s legacy of giving back to his community. Kevin was husband to Jen, father to Olivia, Todd and Rylie, a maintenance manager at Campbell Soup in Napoleon and a volunteer firefighter when he died in October 2013.
Kevin Schwiebert with daughter Rylie
Community service was very important to Kevin. He was a councilman in the village of Florida for several years and also served as mayor of the village. He stepped down from that position when he decided to obtain his bachelor’s degree from Defiance College, graduating in May 2012.
Following his death, Jen and the kids wanted to keep Kevin’s memory alive by continuing his passion for community service, and that’s how this fund was started.
There are two parts to the fund - a scholarship and a fire grant. The scholarship is available to any Henry County high school graduate, although they do not have to be a current graduating senior, with preference to a child of a current or former firefighter. Since Kevin was very involved in community service, this is also community service based, aimed toward those who go above and beyond any school-required community service.
The fire grant portion of the fund is available to any fire department in Henry, Defiance, Williams, Fulton or Wood County. The purpose of the grant is for supplies, such as replenishing first responder or EMT bags, and/or public education materials, for example goody bags for school visits or giveaways for a community event or open house. The goody bags for school visits are included because this was one of Kevin's favorite things to do as a firefighter. "Fireman Kevin" visited St. Peter Lutheran Preschool every year and was a big hit with the kids. Kevin’s children were students at St. Peter Preschool and those visits were extra special, but he loved it whether his own kids were attending the school or not. When Kevin was in the hospital before he died, the preschoolers sent pictures they drew for Fireman Kevin, and the family decorated his room with them. He would have been touched to see all the messages from the kids. Because this was such a special part of his involvement in firefighting, Jen wanted this to be reflected in this fund that the family created in his memory.
This fund has been established as a permanent memorial to Kevin and people will benefit from his legacy for years after we're all gone. Donations are accepted anytime through the Toledo Community Foundation's website (click here). Please make sure to note in the organization and/or comment fields that this is to go to the Kevin R. Schwiebert Memorial Fund. All donations received through this website are tax-deductible. There is also a Facebook page set up for the Memorial Fund (click here) where Jen shares details on the fund, recipients and fundraisers. Thank you to everyone for your support and feel free to contact Jen anytime with questions or more information.
Contact: Jennifer Schwiebert
Email: kjschwiebert@gmail.com
Phone: (419) 777-5356
