Charlotte-Mecklenburg County Chapter

Chapter President: Brandon Caputo
Phone Number: (704) 597-8841
Cell Phone: (704) 791-4308
E-Mail Address: bcaputo@ci.charlotte.nc.us

Chapter Vice President: Justin Field
Phone Number: (704) 336-2130
Cell Phone: (704) 791-5643
E-Mail Address: jfield@ci.charlotte.nc.us

Chapter Secretary: John Rudisill
Phone Number: (704) 336-8376
Mailing Address: 441 Beaumont Avenue, Charlotte, NC 28204
E-Mail Address: jrudisill@ci.charlotte.nc.us
Fax Number: (704) 336-5190

Chapter Treasurer: Jo Provost
Phone Number: (704) 336-8377
Mailing Address: 441 Beaumont Avenue, Charlotte, NC 28204
E-Mail Address: jprovost@ci.charlotte.nc.us

FFBCF Board of Directors Representative: Larry Keply, Jr.

Additional Information:
Location: Western Region
County or City: Mecklneburg
Cities, Townships etc. served: All
Departments involved with your Chapter: Charlotte
Date organized: 1987
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Charlotte FFBCF Volunteer Opportunities for 2008

Camp Celebrate (May 29-June 1st Camp Kanata in Wake Forest, NC)
This is an annual weekend camping experience for survivors of burn injuries ages 5-17, most of whom have been treated at the N.C. Jaycee Burn Center. Camp begins with a fire truck parade involving 40 pieces of apparatus, sirens blaring, that brings the campers through Chapel Hill to Camp Kanata.  The activities start right away and often include; swimming, canoeing, arts & crafts, fishing, sports, team games, field day, ropes courses, and even a private plane ride for the Young Eagle Campers. Parents and siblings are invited to camp on Sunday for closing ceremonies and a Family Picnic sponsored by a local chapter of the FFBCF.
Volunteer Opportunities for Camp Celebrate
Counselors, program staff, counselor-in-training mentors, and logistics staff are needed. Daily and weekend long opportunities available.

Christmas in June at Presbyterian Children’s Hospital (Date TBA)
Join us in the playroom at Presby for caroling, gift giving, and games with Blaze.

Western Region Family Fun Day (U.S. National Whitewater Center -July 12th)
Burn survivors will receive invitations through the Burn Center to join all of the participating Western Region Chapters of the FFBCF for a day of whitewater rafting, still water rafting, ropes courses, biking, hiking, and lunch. Volunteers are needed to facilitate activities.

Christmas in July at Levine Children’s Hospital (Date TBA)
This will be our first time sponsoring Christmas at the new Children’s Hospital so we will need lots of volunteers to make sure all 250 patient rooms are serenaded with carols.

Victory Junction (July 19th-26th)
A camp created to enrich the lives of children with chronic medical conditions or serious illnesses in a fun, exciting, safe, and medically sound environment. “Pirate Week” is the theme this year and only children with Burn/Skin/Craniofacial health issues can apply for this week. For more information or to volunteer, check out www.victoryjunction.org.

Christmas in August at the N.C. Jaycee Burn Center (Date TBA)
Quarterly visit to the Burn Center to distribute Christmas gifts with Santa, donate items from their wish list, visit with the patients, and introduce ourselves to the families.

World Burn Congress (October 1-4th, 2008 Raleigh, NC)
The Phoenix Society's World Burn Congress is an annual international conference that brings together more than 650 burn survivors, their families, care givers, burn care professionals and firefighters.  

To volunteer or for questions about the FFBCF please contact:
Stephen Pritchard 10-B, Jonah Smith 12-C, or Simril Kelly FLSE

February 5^th was an exciting evening at the 2007 Fire & Life Safety Education Conference in Asheville, NC.  The Charlotte Chapter of FFBCF received an award from Ernest Grant, on behalf of the NC Jaycee Burn Center, for support and dedication to their center, patients and staff. The Charlotte Chapter of the FFBCF has been involved in several events and outreach programs at the Burn Center. Larry Kepley proudly accepted this award on behalf of all the members of the Charlotte Department.  The plaque was then presented in a brief ceremony, to Chief Fincher at the Fire General Office on Friday, February 16^th.

Thanks to all supporters of the FFBCF! This award is in recognition to members of the Charlotte Fire Department who have generously supported the Funds efforts. The FFBCF Board of Directors appreciates YOUR involvement in fundraising, activities and support of our mission.

The FFBCF helped sponsor the Charlotte/Mecklenburg Fire and Life Safety Bowl in March of 2007. It consisted of public and private Charlotte/Mecklenburg schools that have formed teams (4^th & 5^th grades) using injury prevention study materials to compete against each other in a game show format. The Fire & Life Safety Bowl was a huge success and had a record turnout.

The FFBCF sponsored Camp Celebrate on May 17-20, 2007, by donating over $3100 in goods and meals.  Also, three members of Charlotte Fire Dept volunteered for the week-end, as well as Captain Caputo and seven recruits helping on Saturday.  Camp Celebrate is a camp where young burn survivors go and have a good time with others their age.  They share experiences and good times as well.  If you have never been, this is something worth going to at least once. Thanks to all the volunteers who went and/or assisted with Camp. Camp Celebrate for 2008 will be May 29- June 1.  If you would like information on volunteering this year, please contact the Burn Center or one of us.

June 4th, the FFBCF and 15 Charlotte Fire Department personnel hosted a Christmas party at Presbyterian Hemby Pediatric Children’s Hospital.    Approximately 20 patients and their families, plus the hospital staff, enjoyed cookies and pizza as they mingled with Santa and Blaze.  Thanks to your generous contributions, Santa and his helpers distributed gifts to all the children.  Though it was hot and humid outside, the kids had a cool time, especially having pictures made with Santa and Blaze.  Everyone seemed to enjoy the festivities.

On July 26, the FFBCF sponsored “Christmas in July” at Carolinas Medical Center. Charlotte Fire Department’s Blaze mascot, along with Santa, visited and handed out gifts to children in the Children’s Hospital.  These kids are going through some rough times whether dealing with cancer, being burned or other medically related conditions and this really cheers them up. It was a big success and thanks to the individuals and the companies who attended.

On December 12^th, 2007, members and friends of the Charlotte FFBCF participated in a Christmas party at the Burn Center in Chapel Hill. We provided lunch for the Burn Center Staff, patients and family members, while Santa and Blaze delivered gifts.  During the luncheon, a check for $5525 was presented to the Medical Director; Dr. Cairn.  We spent time visiting patients (23 adult and 8 children) and also tried to sing some holiday tunes. This really lifted their spirits and a good time was had by all.  A GREAT BIG THANK YOU goes out to the 30 folks from different divisions of the Charlotte Fire Department who attended this trip!!

We are still collecting cans. This is still a good way to raise money and to help the environment also. If there are any questions concerning can pick up, or the trailer is full at your station, please contact Joe Pipkin.

Another form of participating is the Food Lion MVP program. Anyone with an MVP card can go to Food Lion’s website and register their card for the FFBCF Charlotte Chapter, and the chapter will receive a small percentage of the total purchases.  Bi-Lo has also contributed to FFBCF through their Bonus Card program and Charity Golf Tournament.   Other corporate donations have come from Wal-Mart and Enterprise. Additionally, we received a generous donation of $3500 from the Charlotte Firefighters Association Car Raffle.

Again, we would like to extend a big thank you to those of you who contributed to the FFBCF through the United Way. We have been receiving money from United Way and it has been an enormous help in funding all the worthwhile events and grants that we provide and sponsor. With these contributions, we can go further in our pursuit of fire and burn prevention. We would also like to extend a big thank you to those who contributed to the FFBCF in the 2008 United Way campaign.

Thank you for your continued support to the FFBCF. We could not do it without you.

Professionally,

Larry M. Kepley, Jr.

Cabarrus County, Charlotte, Landis, Lee County, Union County, and Wake County Chapters of the Firefighters’ Burned Children Fund, Inc. received a Special Recognition Award given by The North Carolina Jaycee Burn Center. This award is given annually to a select few organizations for all the hard work, contributions, and continued support of the Burn Center.
 

We received the award at the North Carolina Fire and Life Safety Education Conference in Asheville on January 14.  We would like to thank all the personnel of the Fire Department for great support through the years. The Fund continues it’s mission of support and recovery of burn patients and the prevention of burn injuries through education.

The Charlotte FFBCF Chapter will continue to support the following projects:

• Fire Safety Bowl
  Quiz competition between fifth and sixth grade students about Fire and Life Safety.  Includes local public and private schools. (March 17, 2004)
• Camp Celebrate
  Week-end camp for burn survivors at Camp Kantana in Wake Forest. (May 14, 15, and 16, 2004)  Need volunteers for all week-end or help for one day with activities, crafts, boating, fishing and fun firefighter games.
• Christmas in July
  Firefighters assist Santa and Sparky at CMC Children’s Hospital in passing out gifts and playing games with the children. (July 14, 2004)
• Chapter events
  Golf tournaments, softball tournaments, motorcycle fun rides