Be on the lookout for Whitfield County firefighters holding boots at major intersections this weekend, asking for donations to their annual Give Burns the Boot campaign.
“Last year Whitfield County firefighters collected $15,071, and we need your help once again this year in order to be a successful drive,” Lt. Chris West of the Whitfield County Fire Department said.
Firefighters will be conducting the Boot Drive on Saturday from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. at the following locations:
Station 1 – Cleveland Highway and the North Bypass
Stations 2 and 10 – Cleveland Highway and Ga.
Highway 2
Stations 3 and 8 – Airport Road and Chatsworth Highway
Stations 4 and 5 – Highway 41 and Connector 3
Stations 6, 7, and 9 – Highway 201 and Highway 41.
Rain date will be Saturday, June 6, if needed.
“Fire and burn injuries can strike anyone at anytime,” Lt. West said. “The Georgia Firefighters Burn Foundation is working to help prevent fire-related injuries and deaths through education. In addition, the Foundation supports the burn centers in Georgia to allow them to offer the best possible treatment for the patients.”
“The Burn Foundation is grateful to all of the citizens and firefighters that support this campaign. Our work would not be possible without them,” said Executive Director Dennis Gardin.
In recognition of the hard work the firefighters do on behalf of the Burn Foundation, an incentive program has been instituted. Ten percent of each department’s total dollar amount raised is returned to the department for fire safety and burn education efforts.
“By supporting the Boot Drive, the public is also supporting their local fire department and their own community,” Mr. Gardin said.
One of the biggest efforts Boot Drive funds makes possible is Camp Oo-U-La, Georgia’s only camp held exclusively for burn-injured children. Each year, dozens of children with burn injuries attend the camp, paid for entirely by the Burn Foundation. This effort allows the campers one week a year in which they can live without society’s cruel comments and stares at their scars and just be kids.
Other programs include the Chesney Fallen Firefighters Memorial Grant Program, named in memory of the Gwinnett County firefighter who died in the line of duty, which provides funding for fire safety/burn prevention education and work with both the Grady Memorial Hospital’s Burn Center in Atlanta and the Joseph M. Still Burn Center in Augusta.
“Without the support of our citizens each year, the Boot Drive would not be a success,” Lt. West said. “The Whitfield County Fire Department is proud to take part in the drive, and we ask that you continue your support and give as much as you can. Please give generously when a firefighter asks for your support.”
The Burn Foundation was founded in 1982 by a group of DeKalb County firefighters. Over the last 32 years, the foundation has grown to incorporate the entire state and expanded its work to include all Georgians. In 1990, the Give Burns the Boot campaign was started to support the foundation’s efforts. Since that time, firefighters have continued their support by collecting more than $12 million.
This is the 26th annual Give Burn the Boots campaign, and the sixth year that Whitfield County participated.
For more information, go to
www.gfbf.org.
In additional efforts to collect monies, a bin has been set up at Whitfield County Fire Station 1 on Cleveland Highway for residents to bring empty aluminum cans for recycling, with 90 percent of the proceeds going to the Georgia Burn Foundation and 10 percent to fire safety education efforts in the county.
The bin is located in the front parking lot of the station, with plans to move it periodically to other stations in the county.
“We have a huge success with this so far this year,” Lt. Chris West said, “and we would just like to remind the public that we have it in place and that the money from it also goes to the Burn Foundation.”