Why are we here?

If you spend enough time around any organization, sooner or later the same question comes up: why are we here?

The Anne Arundel Firefighters Emerald Society started back in 2002 as a small fraternal group. At the beginning, it was about connection — people finding one another through shared background, shared service, and shared pride in the role Irish Americans played in the fire service. Like a lot of things in this job, it started simply. A few people, a common bond, and the understanding that looking out for each other mattered.

It didn’t take long for that to grow into something more.

As the years went on, the charitable side of the Emerald Society became just as important as the fraternal one. Helping brothers and sisters in need wasn’t an add-on — it was the point. But like many small organizations, the Society went through stretches where momentum slowed. Key members retired. Life changed. There were setbacks and challenges that made it hard to keep things moving forward.

Eventually, a small group stepped up, picked up the reins, and made the decision to rebuild the organization in a way that would last. In 2019, the Emerald Society was formally incorporated, and in 2020 we received our 501(c)(3) status. That gave structure to something that had always existed in spirit.

What didn’t change were the core principles.

The Emerald Society exists to help our brothers and sisters when they’re in need. Sometimes that help is small and quiet — gift cards so a family can afford gas to get back and forth to doctor’s appointments when someone is injured or a child is sick. Sometimes it’s stepping in after a sudden loss to help cover funeral expenses when everything feels overwhelming. Sometimes it’s simply showing up with something tangible that says, you’re not alone.

We don’t decide what help “should” look like. We listen, and we do what we can.

We’re a small charity. We’ve never pretended otherwise. Our strength isn’t in big budgets or polished campaigns — it’s in staying close to the people we serve. That’s also why membership dues matter. We’ve intentionally kept them low: $25 a year for Regular Members. That gives career firefighters within Anne Arundel County a voice and a vote, and it keeps the door open to anyone who wants to be part of this without cost becoming a barrier.

Because our bylaws define Regular Membership as anyone serving within Anne Arundel County, that includes career members from departments like Annapolis City, Fort Meade, BWI, and the Naval Academy — not just one agency. At the same time, Associate Memberships are open to those outside Anne Arundel or those who want to support the mission but don’t fall within that definition. Associate Members don’t vote, but they are very much part of who we are.

Volunteer firefighters are welcome here too, and they always have been. Many of the families we help come from volunteer departments. Many come from career departments. We’ve also provided support to police families when tragedy strikes. Need doesn’t care about job titles, patches, or pay status — and neither do we.

What the Emerald Society has really been about, from the beginning, is people. People who believe in service. People who understand that this job can change in an instant, and that when it does, the impact doesn’t stop at the station doors. Families feel it. Kids feel it. Life shifts in ways you can’t plan for.

We’ve learned over time that helping doesn’t always mean solving everything. Sometimes it means filling a gap when things don’t line up neatly. Sometimes it means stepping in quietly, without much fanfare, and doing what we can with what we have.

That’s the role the Emerald Society has played for a long time now — not loudly, and not perfectly — just consistently.