Special Events lead the way
On any given week Bobbie Jo Gainey could be seen wearing leather on a Harley at the Jeff Chavis Motorcycle Charity Ride or sporting her boots at the Vienna Field Trial or showing off her new stilettos at the Fire & Ice Ball. That is the nature of fundraising at the Burn Foundation.
Before she left, we asked Bobbie Jo to share a few of her favorite memories. "I could write a best seller with some of the experiences I have had at the Burn Foundation." As she talked, it is clear that nothing fazes this perky blonde from Elba, Alabama - not even Little Elvis, the monkey that rode a dog during this year's Rodeo Nights. She remembers the day Little Elvis chewed a hole in her car's upholstery while en route to the TV station. Bobbie Jo just laughed it off and said it goes with the territory.
One of the secrets of fundraising is a sincere desire to make a difference. We see this in so many of our volunteers and certainly in Bobbie Jo. "I grew up watching my parents work and contribute to something with a cause," said Bobbie Jo. "This made me w ant to work for something that had meaning. I wanted to contribute and leave my footprints." She left her footprints all over Georgia and South Carolina while working with firefighters, volunteers, and sponsors.
Bobbie Jo looks at the patients and families that the Burn Foundation serves and understands how important family ties are. "I had a pretty special life growing up in a small town. It was a little like Mayberry, where everybody knows everybody, and volunteering was a way of life," notes Bobbie Jo. Her mother, Gilda, was an inspiration. She helped with homework, had dinner on the table at 6:30 p.m., and found time to volunteer at their church. Her father, Bobby, a salesman who traveled all week, found time on Saturdays to cut grass for their blind neighbor.
Bobbie Jo gets a little emotional as she recalls some of the great volunteers and sponsors that she met through the Burn Foundation. "Without them, the Burn Foundation couldn't provide the services we do for burn survivors and their families." Like Bobbie Jo - sponsors, donors, and volunteers make a difference in the lives of many. Bobbie Jo's high heels will be hard to fill, but she assures us that she has left behind a "well trained army of volunteers to keep the fundraising fire burning." |