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Thanks for a great year!
 
Silver Anniversary Sponsor |
Upcoming Events
January 17
Fire and Ice Gala
Savannah, GA
February 2-8
Burn Awareness Week
February 21-23
Savannah Women's Show
Southside Fire Calendar Event
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Chavis House Guests Enjoy Tree Trimming
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Yesterday is but today's memory, and tomorrow is today's dream.
Khalil Gibran
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Caring by the Numbers
73 - The number of churches and other groups that who participate in our Meals Program.
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The Chavis House has been wonderful! It has been a blessing to have a place so close to the hospital to eat, sleep and bathe.
Patricia Adams
Chavis House Guests
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"We are grateful to the Burn Foundation for providing not only lodging and meals but also emotional support to burn patients' families. We celebrate with the Burn Foundation in reaching their 25th Anniversary."
Doug Welch
CEO, Doctors Hospital
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"The Burn Foundation plays an important role in the continuum of care. They provide services for the families that we at the hospital can't provide."
Dr. Fred Mullins
President, JMS Burn Centers, Inc.
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Find us on Facebook.
We like to be liked!
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Greetings!
Southeastern Firefighters Burn Foundation's 25th Anniversary year is ending. Thanks to PotashCorp, our Silver Anniversary Sponsor, it has been a year filled with wonderful events and good times. We began the year by sorting through files that had accumulated since 1988! It was a bit like looking through your high school yearbook. Each photograph or souvenir brought back a memory. With the help of volunteer Alice Outlaw, Jennifer McCray sorted through 1,800 pounds of paper. A common thread throughout was visionary Joseph M. Still, Jr., M.D., founder of the Joseph M. Still Burn Center at Doctors Hospital, who recognized the inexplicable way in which the presence of family members made a positive impact in the burn patient's recovery. His foresight helped establish the Burn Foundation whose core mission is to operate a guesthouse for the families of the patients at the Burn Center. Today we serve nearly 1,000 guests each year at the Chavis House.
We got a taste of what it feels like to walk the red carpet as we hosted the southeastern premiere of the documentary film, Trial by Fire. WJBF's Jennie Montgomery led us in an anniversary toast, but the highlight was singing "Happy Birthday" to friend and former patient, Connor McKemey.  He was one of seven burn survivors portrayed in the film. Now a freshman at High Point University and manager of the university's lacrosse team, Connor continues to inspire us. See http://trialbyfiredoc.com/gallery/article2.
One great thing about looking back is the stories you hear. We heard stories about volunteers like Paul Pape, one of the first firefighters to volunteer with the Burn Foundation. Others, like Tom Dorn, Barbara Cooper-Grant, Shirley and Jeff Badke, and Beth Frits, served as historians as we sorted through photos and old news clippings. Emeriti David Griffin shared stories of his two decades of volunteerism including what it was like to quickly step-in as the interim leader when former CEO Charles DeVaney died.
As always, firefighters were part of our celebration. When we say "party"- they usually come.  When we say help- they always come! Bobbie Jo Gainey traveled to several boot drives, skeet shoots, and other fundraisers. Old friends, like John Ryan, Gary Jarriel, Shannon Dales, Robby Horn, David Bullard, and Jeremy Wallen, continued to help after years of service. We also made some new friends along the way like Brian Coltrane, Kevin DeBritte, Richard Hall, Frank Bowman, and Lee Strickland who simply asked, "How can we help?" State Fire Marshall Dwayne Garriss made a trip over to tour the Chavis House.
Along the way, we spent a day in Savannah with our Imperial Sugar Company friends.  It is always fun to see retiree Bill Tumlin and other members of the Over the Sugar Hill Gang who devote time every year hosting a charity golf tournament. While in Savannah, Jo Maypole toured the Imperial Sugar Company and saw the changes that Louis Dreyfus Commodities has made since purchasing the company in 2012. Driving past the memorial of those who died in the 2008 explosion was a painful reminder of how our friendship with this group began. Spending time with Pat House and Eddie Jadou was enlightening as we walked through Imperial's new state-of-the-art facilities designed with a focus on employee safety. All in all, that day was a "sweet" experience.
There is no community more closely aligned with the Burn Foundation than Lexington, SC. In October
 many came for an Open House to thank the donors who contributed $135,000 to fund a recent makeover to the Chavis House, named in memory of Lexington firefighter, Jeffrey Vaden Chavis. Linda and Vaden Chavis led the way as dozens walked through the new hall-of-fame dedicated to Jeffrey Chavis, Shirley Badke, Drs. Still and Orlet, and others who have been significant in the 25 year history of the Burn Foundation. Eddie Turner and Columbia, SC, Fire Chief Aubrey Jenkins were joined by several Lexington firefighters including Bryan Rawl. Board members, volunteers and donors beamed with pride as they saw the new flooring, furniture, and bedspreads. "This is first class," Bob Hickox said, as he took pictures of the new curtains, remembering how a group of employees from Imperial Sugar made the original ones.
Speaking of friendships, this year we not only celebrated old friendships, but new Burn Foundation Friends too -  or as we like to call them, BFFs. In October we held our first annual BFF Blitz, a partnership with our friends at Clear Channel Entertainment, which raised over $28,000 in pledges called into a bank of phones manned by friends of the Burn Foundation - like Dr. Richard Cartie, Beretta Coffman, and Augusta Richmond County Fire Chief Chris James. These friendships remind us that we are more than a Foundation - we are Family. Whether you are a patient or guest whom we've hugged, a church member who brought a meal, a firefighter who held a boot collecting money on a hot, summer day, a healthcare professional who offered care and encouragement, or a donor who gave because your heart was touched, we say thank you for your friendship and generous support over these past 25 years, and we look forward to making memories with you in the years to come.
What do the next 25 years look like? We asked two of our good friends. Dr. Fred Mullins, President, JMS Burn Centers, Inc. predicts continuous growth, and therefore, "a continuous need for Burn Foundation services." Doug Welch, CEO of Doctors Hospital, recognizes the vital role of the Burn Center at Doctors Hospital and serves on the Burn Foundation's Board to assure that the Foundation remains focused on its mission of "caring for patients' families during one of the most difficult times of their lives."
Here's to a Happy New Year and twenty-five more to come!
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