Proceeds help Organization’s Bottom Lines

The Independence Day holiday brings out the best in our celebratory spririt when it comes to showing our love of country.

Flags will be waving, some communities will have parades, hot dogs will be grilling, and most of us will take in the sense of pride for the good things about the United States.

And don’t forget the fireworks.

This year, Merced County will join with others throughout the state in making the so-called “safe and sane” fireworks available to citizens.

The stands are sprinkled throughout the County and especially in the City of Merced.

Working with the fireworks wholesalers, non-profit organizations apply for permits, staff the booths, and raise a big portion of their annual budgets.

That's how it's done in California. “We have had a fireworks booth for 10 years or more,” a spokesperson for Playhouse Merced says. The Playhouse staffs the booth in the parking lot at Raley’s on Yosemite Avenue.

The firework wholesalers coordinate the paperwork to secure the permits. The non-profit organization agrees to abide by the local rules governing the sale of the product.

Fire safety is part of the arrangement with the fireworks being stored in those metal storage containers that are nearby every stand. In exchange for agreeing to abide by the rules, the non-profit and their volunteers staff the booth right on through the July 4th holiday.

The profits are sizable, and the wholesaler takes back any unsold inventory.. “It does provide a large part of our operating income for our Youth Educational programs and our Community Theatre Live Productions,” the spokesperson for Playhouse Merced says.

Most of the cities in Merced County handle the permitting and inspection of the fireworks booths through the local fire department. Merced County Fire performs this role in areas where either the city does not handle this role.

“This year, we did thirteen permits,” says Crystal del Toro from Merced County Fire.

It’s a big commitment for a non-profit organization to commit their volunteers and staff to working a shift at a fireworks stand. From my experience running a non-profit some fifteen years ago, it seemed as though the volunteers were eager to do a good job.

The staff did their best to pull a shift here and there while continuing to do their real jobs for the organization.

I recall doing an analysis of the profit versus expenses following the fireworks stand effort my non-profit organization operated back in 2006.

I recall the analysis concluded that while the profit helped the bottom line, it would not have happened without the tremendous amount of time committed by the volunteers.

Some communities in northern California no longer permit sales of safe-and-sane fireworks due to the wildfire threats in recent years.

The City of Redding does not allow fireworks sales. City Manager Barry Tippen says the City has maintained this policy for the past several years.

Some of the local firework sellers will have a close-out sale on July 5, but by the end of the week, most of the stands will have been taken down and shipped back to the wholesaler’s storage sites. Another fireworks season will close.

That is unless some folks have put some of their fireworks away for a special occasion sometime over the next twelve months.

Steve Newvine lives in Merced.

He is currently working on a new book to be released later this year. Ten of his books are available at Lulu.com, Barnes & Noble.com, and Amazon.com.

This summer, he joins several presenters at the Principles Based Lifestyle Training summer youth program being held at UC Merced.