By RORY MOORE
Tiger Media Network
Ellis County EMS ran a Fill the Ambulance Food Drive at Hays’ two Dillons locations on Friday. Personnel from the emergency medical service stood in both locations to receive food and other essential items donated by shoppers for the community food pantry.
Ashlee Miller, full-time personnel and PR representative at ECEMS, organized the drive through her community outreach initiative.
“We’ve tried to expand it throughout Ellis County,” she said. “But mostly, we’re centered here in Hays, so we have more capabilities and public relationships here.”
She set out to Dillons with the only particular goal of helping those in need without a specific number of items.
“We try to raise as much as possible,” Miller said. “We don’t put that pressure on people. We just want them to donate and help our community fill the shelves at the food pantry. [We want to] get those shelves full during the winter so people can use the food when they aren’t well and they’re struggling the most.”
The food drive aligns with the first responders’ duty to serve the Ellis County area even as a non-emergency mission.
“We’ve done this for about three years now,” part-time EMT Dawson Vonfeldet said. “We try to help the community in any way we can. This is one way outside of a 911 emergency scenario to help out. It may not be a whole lot, but to some people, this is a very big benefit.”
Ashlee Miller and Dawson Vonfeldet accept donations at Dillons on 515 W 27th St. 
Miller accepts a donation. 
Chase Zimmerman and Brylea German man a shopping cart inside Dillons on 1902 Vine St. 
German takes donations from shoppers. 
Zimmerman, German and Emily Faurot interact with shoppers to build ECEMS’ relationships in the community.