CRANBERRY TWP — The Cranberry Township Community Chest raised nearly $400,000 to help recruit and retain more volunteer firefighters in Butler County.

That effort, which ended this month, was the group's 2015 project of the year.

Since fundraising efforts began last July at the township's Community Days celebration, the Community Chest raised $392,850.

The donations came from hundreds of individuals, businesses and organizations.

At least $150,000 has already gone to buy two emergency trailers to be used for recruitment, training and educational purposes by all of the fire departments in the county.

Those trailers will be unveiled on July 2 at a ceremony at the Butler County Community College, where they will be used by the school's fire academy.

The rest of the money will go to establishing scholarships at BC3. Any student who pledges two years of service at a fire department will be eligible.

Bruce Mazzoni, township supervisors chairman and treasurer of the Community Chest, said he is thrilled with the community response to the project.

“There are a lot of issues in regards to declining numbers of firefighters in Pennsylvania, and I know what we did isn't going to solve all those issues,” Mazzoni said. “But at least it's putting a nice spotlight on them.”

Ruth Purcell, executive director of the BC3 Education Foundation, said the college had no idea the project would be so successful, and she thanked Mazzoni for his efforts. She said that this fund will be one of the largest endowments at the college.

“We are just delighted,” Purcell said.

She said the scholarships will be available this fall and likely will be $1,000, which she said covers roughly a quarter of a full-time student's annual tuition costs.

Purcell said she is not sure how many scholarships BC3 would be able to grant per year, but said it could be 12 to 15. Recipients will be able to take any classes they choose.

Kevin Boozel, president of the Butler County Fire Chiefs Association, said the project will help bring in new volunteers while also exposing people to college who otherwise may not have that experience.

“I think that it's a great expansion of the private-public partnership,” Boozel said.

He said it is important to recruit new volunteers, saying that the state used to have 300,000 volunteer firefighters and now there are 50,000.

“Obviously, the fires haven't gone away,” Boozel said.

County Commissioner Bill McCarrier, board chairman, said the amount raised is tremendous.

“This is going to benefit all of the fire departments in Butler County,” said McCarrier, a former fire chief in West Sunbury and a former president of the county fire chiefs association.