“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. But at least it’s putting a nice spotlight on it.”

That’s a perfect explanation by Bruce Mazzoni, treasurer of the Cranberry Township Community Chest, about the organization’s 2015 project: a fund drive to recruit and retain firefighters in Butler County.

The project provides a prime example of how to anticipate a troublesome trend — a diminishing number of volunteer firefighters — and to help remedy it.

It’s a serious problem. There were once 300,000 volunteer firefighter in Pennsylvania; today there are about 50,000. Some of the county’s smaller departments have merged to share their volunteer forces, and more mergers are possible in coming years.

The Community Chest’s yearlong drive raised $392,850. The donations came from hundreds of individuals, businesses and organizations.

The money will bolster the fire academy at Butler County Community College. At least $150,000 paid for two emergency trailers that will be used for recruitment, training and educational purposes by all of the fire departments in the county. The trailers will be used by the BC3 fire academy.

The rest of the money will establish scholarships at BC3. Any student who pledges two years of service at a fire department will be eligible for a scholarship.

The scholarships are an innovative approach. For volunteers it eases the twin demands of time and money — a student can concentrate more on schooling and less on the tuition to pay for it. College officials anticipate the scholarships will be available this fall and will be $1,000, or about one-quarter of the annual tuition cost.

Through the generosity of Butler County businesses and residents, more students will benefit from a college education; local fire departments will benefit with more and better trained members; and the community will benefit from enhanced fire safety.

The Cranberry Community Chest succeeded in its objectives: to draw attention to a community need and to raise funding intended to help alleviate the need in a practical, sustaining way.

From just about every perspective, the fundraising project was a huge success. We’re all better off for the effort.