Cruizin 4 Charity is returning this October with a weekend of events designed to raise money for the Kern County Sheriff\u2019s Office Search and Rescue team, a volunteer unit that organizers say often pays for critical needs out of pocket.<\/p>\n
Wendy Ward, who is involved with Cruizing 4 Charity,<\/a> said the group chose Search and Rescue this year because the team responds across Kern County and operates with limited funding.<\/p>\n KBFX<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cThe search and rescue team, a lot of reasons, helps the agencies rescue people throughout Kern County, but it is a volunteer organization that is largely funded on their own,\u201d Ward said. She said the team responds \u201cwhether it’s in the mountains, whether it’s in the water, it’s just in the rural lands throughout Kern County.\u201d<\/p>\n Ward said donations help cover costs that can include canine-related expenses and equipment.<\/p>\n \u201cThey have the dog rescue, and so they have to provide services and support for that, and they have to pay for the vet bills, or they have to pay for the training, and they have to pay for their own equipment and their own medical supplies,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n Tammie Sullivan, is a lieutenant with the Search and Rescue team, said she has been on the team for nearly 18 years, primarily working with canines. She said she joined the swiftwater team around 2008 and tells me how an average day for their team looks different everyday. <\/p>\n \u201cI mean, there’s not a typical day. I mean, we’re all volunteers. We all have normal eight-to-five jobs. Well, not necessarily eight-to-five jobs, but we all have jobs that, when the call comes, we leave those jobs and do what we need for the,\u201d Sullivan said.<\/p>\n Sullivan said the team averages three to four trainings a month, with callouts in between.<\/p>\n