Despite its work as an emergency services organization having ended years ago, the all-volunteer Madison County Rescue Squad (MCRS) is still finding ways to leave a positive impact in the community.
In August 2021, the Madison County Board of Supervisors voted to dissolve the MCRS as an emergency medical service agency, opting instead to focus on the paid Madison Emergency Medical Services, ending the squad’s 58 years of service. Following the decision, the squad sold its building to the county, sold its land that had been planned for a future facility at auction and liquidated its other assets, leaving monetary donations.
Squad president Steve Grayson said 552 letters were sent to those who had donated to the future facility project giving them the option to receive their donation back, donate it to another organization or allow the squad to keep the funds to use for future community donations.
“That was a major undertaking, but we felt we had a moral obligation to do it,” Grayson said. “About 40% of people had us send [their donations] to other agencies in the county like the fire company, Madison Emergency Services Association (MESA), the animal shelter. About 40% asked for a refund and the others didn’t respond or said keep it.”
Grayson said it’s taken years to get the squad fully dissolved with the IRS, but with it finally finished, it was time to create a lasting legacy.
“We sat down as a group and discussed various options,” he said, with the 15-20 remaining squad members opting to donate $1.65 million to local organizations. “Each of these agencies chosen we thought was very worthwhile. We felt they were very helpful to more than one group of people.
The squad donated $267,500 to Madison Parks and Recreation for the Hoover Ridge Outdoor Recreation Center Project; $267,500 to the Madison County Library; $267,500 to the Madison Free Clinic; $267,500 to the Madison Boys & Girls Club; $120,000 to the Madison County Volunteer Fire Company; $65,000 to the Madison American Legion; $50,000 to MESA; $10,000 to the Madison Senior Center; $25,000 to the Madison County Historical Society; $10,000 to the Woman’s Club of Madison County; $30,000 to the Brightwood Ruritan Club; $15,000 each to the Wolftown and Rochelle Ruritan Clubs; $25,000 to the Etlan Community Church for its food bank; $25,000 to the Rapidan Baptist Church for its program which provides nonperishable items to students for weekends; $25,000 to the American Heart Association and $25,000 to the American Cancer Society. Also receiving a $25,000 donation was the Little Fork Volunteer Fire and Rescue which in addition to being an emergency response agency is also known for being the only volunteer Technical Large Animal Rescue Team in the state.
“Little Fork is an all-volunteer organization that has been in operation for 13 years and has never missed a call,” Grayson said. “We felt they were a very worthy agency that can use the money.”
The donations are in addition to the squad’s donation of Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) to every church in the county, nearly 50 of them, several years ago.
Plans are also in the works to create an even greater legacy. Grayson said the squad retained $600,000 to set up a charitable foundation that will award scholarships to Madison County residents who wish to pursue a medical career, including becoming a CNA, an EMT, an RN and a Nurse Practitioner.
“Our thoughts are with the amount chosen and proper management, [the foundation] will be a self-supporting, self-sufficient way that long after current members are gone, the legacy will continue and help the citizens of Madison who helped us over the years,” Grayson said.
