The 52 Club, launched last March by the Wildland Firefighter Foundation to help raise funds for the survivors of fallen wildland firefighters, is going strong with about 1,200 members signed up by the end of October.

The concept of the club is simple: “Give a buddy a buck a week to go towards making sure we’re there to help the next time there is a fatality,” says Melissa Schwagerl, executive assistant of the Wildland Firefighter’s Foundation in Boise, Idaho, a nonprofit organization to help the families left behind by wildland fatalities.

It’s all about the power of one. Almost everyone can afford to give a buck. Members get a patch, a pin and a helmet sticker. Wildland crews that have 75% 52 Club membership get on the club’s “gold” list, and there’s healthy competition heating up among crews, Schwagerl said. Businesses that recruit 75% of their employees can also get on the gold list.

U.S. Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth became the 52 Club’s 100th member in September.

Communities affected by wildland fires are also showing their gratitude to firefighters by signing up.

“This summer we had a community in Colorado that had a fire and everyone in the community donated to make sure all the firefighters who worked on that fire got a 52 Club membership,” Schwagerl said. “That helped our membership jump by about 100.”

Many people are joining to honor the memory of a fallen firefighter who was close to them. "It gives those firefighters and families and friends a way to feel like they can do something to help when they lose a comrade or a family member,” Schwagerl said.

The Wildland Firefighter Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. It established and maintains the Wildland Firefighters National Monument at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise. The Foundation also provides emergency support services to the families of injured and fallen firefighters.

For more information on the 52 Club and the Wildland Firefighter Foundation, see www.wffoundation.org or call 208-336-2996.