The firefighter is a busy, productive member of today's society.
Often paid fireman work long hours, try to find time for their friends and family, and will hold part-time jobs, if necessary to make ends meet at home or to provide that something extra for husband, wife or children.
They have to train physically and schedule time for classes on fire and EMT, or emergency medical teams.
They also volunteer at schools and local outdoor fairs to show kids the dangers of playing with fire producing materials like matches and lighters.
All these actions are commendable, and should be rewarded accordingly.
Why make a hard working individual, performing a service for the community in general, turn around and take extra time out of his or her already packed schedule to sell items for fundraisers? Being obligated to sell candles, calendars, baskets, etc.
on one's day off, when exhausted from fighting fires is unnecessarily adding another burden to an already stretched schedule and can cause undo stress and tension to someone that already tries so hard.
A painless alternative to this approach would be comedy hypnosis.
In comedy hypnosis, the whole show takes place on one stage by the performer and perhaps one or two participants from the audience.
It is a family friendly show that can be held somewhere close like the local school gymnasium, local rec center or some other public building.
It does not require the time or money necessary to drive to some tourist attraction that can be both expensive and stressful.
It is more cost effective to use this form of entertainment, because it is cheaper and less labor intensive than scheduling multiple events to take more donations.
Watching a show is not nearly as dangerous as standing at an intersection trying to take donations from speeding motorists.
It is therapeutic in that it helps people release tension when they can get off work and spend quality time with their family.
Everyone in the family gets to enjoy a form of entertainment that is not normally available.
Laughter has been proven to help people relax and relaxing helps people spend, or in this case, donate more.
Also made more convenient would be the actual setup time and place.
It is much easier to ask for volunteers one time than to ask for them several times, and materials can be readily found for a stage and tables.
Perhaps refreshments and snacks could be sold also for added profit, to be used in conjunction with the tickets sold for the show.
For those that are leery of hypnotism, it is a simple matter of suggestion and nothing is ever done without the volunteer's willing consent.
Many times, when faced with a happy, curious crowd, the volunteer enjoys his or her stage time as much as the professional performer and gains the opportunity to see up close any sleight of hand tricks the performer might decide to play.
Comedy hypnosis is an ages old technique of entertainment and is not viewed as legitimate hypnosis.