CRANBERRY TWP — Donations continue to be made to the Cranberry Township Community Chest’s 2015 Project of the Year.

The project is a $500,000 fundraising initiative to recruit and retain more volunteer firefighters in Butler County.

Bruce Mazzoni, the treasurer of the community chest, said that recent donations have brought the total amount of money raised to $275,277.

He thanked John and Wendy Lydon for donating $250, Ray and Kay Steffler for donating $100 and William and Christine O’Brien for donating $100.

The organization in early October will mail out nearly 6,000 informational flyers to businesses to spread awareness about the project.

The treasurer said he and other members of the community chest have met with firefighters to tell them about the project.

“Obviously we feel good with where we’re at right now,” Mazzoni said.

“We’re more than halfway done with meeting our fundraising goal and we haven’t even started advertising yet.”

Mazzoni said he also recently met with the Butler County Fire Chief’s Association and received its blessing for the project.

“They were fully on board,” he said. “It’s nice because everyone is appreciative of what we’re doing and helping us move forward with the project.”

Mazzoni said the community chest will send a pamphlet on the project to every resident in Cranberry Township.

The money raised will go to buy a $130,000 emergency trailer that will be used for recruitment, education and training purposes, while the remaining funds will go to establishing scholarships at the Butler County Community College.

Anyone who pledges a two-year commitment to be a volunteer at a fire company will be eligible for the scholarships.