The Hunter’s Heroes Foundation took part in the American Heart Association Heart Walk on Saturday in Philadelphia to raise awareness for heart disease.
The walk began at Citizens Bank Park and lasted until the final registrant crossed the finish line.
There were 15 people registered on the Hunter’s Heroes Foundation team that took part in the walk and close to 25 total who attended the event.
“I think it was amazing. Last year we started with just two firefighters walking in gear,” Claire Hunter said. “These guys and girls were stopped constantly by people wanting to take their picture. It took them longer to complete the walk because of all the stops they made to take pictures with people.”
For the second straight year a handful of firefighters from the Cinnaminson Fire Department and Evesham Fire-Rescue walked in full gear in honor of Lt. Chris Hunter.
“He (Chris) made his mark,” Claire said. “He was a particular kind of person that everybody loved. He loved his job and everybody loved him for that. The support has been just amazing. I can’t get over how many people have been a part of everything we try to do.”
Lt. Hunter passed away in November of 2014 following a heart attack just hours after responding to a call.
Firefighter/EMT Jim Clancy, a career firefighter in Cinnaminson who spent five years on Lt. Hunter’s shift, was one of six firefighters to walk in full gear Saturday.
“It was an honor to participate in the walk yesterday. Myself and five firefighters from Evesham, who recently lost a firefighter in the same manner, walked in full turnout gear and air packs for three plus miles.”
“Walking with Claire and her kids; my wife and kids; and so many other great supporters was absolutely incredible. On top of raising funds, it was important to raise awareness of heart disease. Hopefully people will take advantage of any testing or screening to prevent this disease.”
The main goal for the foundation when taking part in the walk is to raise awareness for heart disease.
“It’s so important and it’s something we will do every single year,” Claire said. “I hope it gets bigger and bigger every year.”
“Not everybody knows about firefighters and what the job does to them. The number one killer of firefighters is heart disease. This is something we will do every year in honor of Chris.”
Lt. Hunter’s children have been in attendance for both years with the foundation.
“CJ understands. He gets it,” Claire said. “He knows that we do it for Chris. CJ was a fireman for Halloween. He almost wore his gear and Chris’ helmet for the walk, but he changed his mind in the morning. Emma is starting to understand everything.”
One business in attendance yesterday raised $250,000. One single person raised $50,000.
“Eventually I want that to be us,” Claire said. “It may not be now or 10 years from now. I want us to be huge. I want people to know what we’re there for. We’re not just that for Hunter’s Heroes. We’re there for firemen recognition. We want people to understand what they do for a living is hard on them and no joke.”
When the group took part in the heart walk in 2015 the foundation had yet to be created.
“When I signed up for the walk last year I just put the name Hunter’s Heroes,” Claire said. “This year we got an email saying the AHA wanted us to be signed up as a company.”
“When you’re signed up as a company you get recognition on a banner and can have team captains. This was our first year doing it as the foundation. As you were walking you could sponsor signs that said ‘In memory of.’ I had no idea about that. We will learn as we go each year.”
The Hunter’s Heroes Foundation, outside of the heart walk, has a short-term goal of helping firefighters with educating themselves.
“Chris was big on reading and educating himself,” Claire said. “That’s the whole reason why I created the foundation. That was him. On his days off he was reading or training. The fire department was 24 hours on the brain.”
The foundation will be hosting a beef and beer this coming Saturday in honor of Lt. Hunter. We will have a story on the event midweek.
Follow Cinn City News for all the news stories in and around Cinnaminson, including exclusive coverage of Pirates sports at the high school and in-town levels. We are on Twitter and Facebook. Be sure to sign up for our daily newsletter on the homepage.
