Every year, we can count on the seasons changing as we turn the calendar pages from January to December. And we know that the temperatures will get cooler as the year ends.
It’s with that same certainly that when November arrives, Boulder City resident Blaze Trumble will mark his birthday by gathering cold weather gear for the area’s less fortunate.
Blaze’s Wish, now in its 12th year, seeks donations of coats, beanies, scarves, blankets and other items to help keep warm that will be given to those at the Las Vegas Rescue Mission’s annual Thanksgiving dinner.
“Every year when I go down there, I can tell how much it means to the people,” Trumble said.
Items will be donated Nov. 27, two days after his 17th birthday.
When passing out the donated items, Trumble said, he always takes time to listen to the people at the rescue mission and learn about their lives.
“It’s kind of interesting to hear their stories,” he said. “It’s not always their fault that they’re homeless, or how they are trying to get back on track.”
Even though it is his birthday wish to help others, Trumble has been given special birthday wishes and a cake by those at the rescue mission. One year a man gave him a gift of an intricate cross with a heart that he created by bending wire.
A junior at Boulder City High School, Trumble said he plans to continue gathering donations for the needy “at least until I go off to college.”
Helping others is something Trumble said will likely be part of his life forever. At the moment, he is considering a career as a firefighter.
As he has done in past years, Trumble said he plans to bring several of his friends to help distribute the coats and blankets.
He and his mom, Frannie, said they try to make the experience like a shopping trip for each person who receives a donated coat or cold-weather item. They try to find something in the right size and style so the person will actually wear or use the items they are given.
Donations will be accepted through Nov. 26. They can be brought to the Boulder Dam Credit Union, 530 Avenue G; World Famous Coffee Cup, 512 Nevada Way; Boulder Dam Brewing Co., 453 Nevada Way; the Senior Center of Boulder City, 813 Arizona St.; and Henderson Harley-Davidson, 1010 W. Warm Springs Road, Henderson.
Additionally, through a GoFundMe account, Trumble raises money that he uses to buy sleeping bags and other items that he gives directly to those living on the streets and in need just prior to Christmas.
Frannie Trumble said they take advantage of Black Friday sales to make the most of the money they receive.
To donate to his GoFundMe account, visit http://bit.ly/2q6FB3s.
Hali Bernstein Saylor is editor of the Boulder City Review. She can be reached at hsaylor@bouldercityreview.com or at 702-586-9523. Follow @HalisComment on Twitter.