Avery/Mitchell Chapter of NCFBCF
Matthew Hundley / (matthew.hundley@averyjournal.com)
When a child is burned, costs for expert care can be a burden for a family. For families of young burn victims in Avery and Mitchell counties, however, a new resource will be available to help.
Joining a list of 17 other chapters, Avery County is now represented by its own chapter of North Carolina Firefighters’ Burned Children’s Fund. Although NCFBCF has been around since 1989, The Avery/Mitchell Chapter is relatively new.
“The Avery/Mitchell Chapter was started six months ago,” explained Nathan Elliott, supervising captain at Linville Volunteer Fire Department, who initiated the Avery/Mitchell chapter of NCFBCF with the help of volunteer firefighters from Avery and Mitchell county.
“I felt like Avery County had a need, so I got with a friend of mine in Mitchell County and we decided to go ahead with this, filed the paperwork and got started.”
Elliott, who serves as president of the Avery/Mitchell Chapter, has put a great deal of effort into bringing this organization to Avery County. But why? What can the NCFBCF do that health insurance cannot? According to Elliott, it is not as much about how the organization can help as when it can help.
“What people do not understand is that there is not a whole lot of immediate help for people in a situation where a child is burnt. The state only has two burn centers, so any kid that gets burnt is going to have to go to one of those two places. Now you have this family with the cost of travel and having to stay down there. Even insurance is not going to cover travel. There are some organizations out there that will help them, but that takes time,” said Elliott, who explained that having a chapter in Avery County will allow for immediate assistance. “One of the nurses or someone from the hospital can call me and let me know that they have somebody and one of the people from our organization can go up there the same day to help out with expenses in the initial stage.”
While NCFBCF is a statewide organization, the funds for the Avery/Mitchell Chapter come from the communities it serves.
“Essentially the way it works with the drink cans is we will place trailers at specific places throughout the county, then advertise to tell people what we do and encourage them to take their recyclable drink cans and leave them there. Once that trailer is full, we will take it to a recycling center that we have a special agreement with a recycling center in Gastonia that will give us top dollar for the cans,“ said Elliott.
According to Elliott, every penny raised can go to benefit children because volunteers will operate the organization locally.
“One hundred percent of all the money we take in goes to helping someone else. Nobody is on any kind of payroll,” said Elliott, who went on to explain that even if the need does not arise in Avery County, all funds will be donated to N.C. burn centers to help young burn victims at Christmas time. “We want to help as many people as we can as quickly as we can. It is a great organization that does a lot of good.”
Currently, two trailers are set up to receive aluminum cans for the Avery/Mitchell Chapter of NCFBCF, one at Linville Volunteer Fire Department for Avery County and one at Parkview Fire Department in Mitchell County. Established chapters in Charlotte and Gastonia donated the designated trailers to help give the fledgling Avery/Mitchell Chapter a strong start.
“I know it is a little inconvenient now,” admitted Elliott. “But our long term goal for fundraising is to put four of these trailers, strategically positioned, in each county.”
In addition to the trailers, Elliott is ready to provide trash receptacles bearing the NCFBCF logo. These receptacles can be placed in any business or office as a place for individuals to dispose of aluminum drink cans and contribute to a worthy cause. According to Elliott, a simple phone call will bring a volunteer firefighter to empty the receptacles once they are filled.
While Elliott hopes the trailers and the boxes will help build energy for the organization in Avery County, he is always on the lookout for energetic volunteers to help raise additional funds by organizing fundraising events.
For more information on the Avery/Mitchell Chapter of NCFBCF, the in-business receptacles or volunteering, contact Elliott at (828) 733-2188.
Joining a list of 17 other chapters, Avery County is now represented by its own chapter of North Carolina Firefighters’ Burned Children’s Fund. Although NCFBCF has been around since 1989, The Avery/Mitchell Chapter is relatively new.
“The Avery/Mitchell Chapter was started six months ago,” explained Nathan Elliott, supervising captain at Linville Volunteer Fire Department, who initiated the Avery/Mitchell chapter of NCFBCF with the help of volunteer firefighters from Avery and Mitchell county.
“I felt like Avery County had a need, so I got with a friend of mine in Mitchell County and we decided to go ahead with this, filed the paperwork and got started.”
Elliott, who serves as president of the Avery/Mitchell Chapter, has put a great deal of effort into bringing this organization to Avery County. But why? What can the NCFBCF do that health insurance cannot? According to Elliott, it is not as much about how the organization can help as when it can help.
“What people do not understand is that there is not a whole lot of immediate help for people in a situation where a child is burnt. The state only has two burn centers, so any kid that gets burnt is going to have to go to one of those two places. Now you have this family with the cost of travel and having to stay down there. Even insurance is not going to cover travel. There are some organizations out there that will help them, but that takes time,” said Elliott, who explained that having a chapter in Avery County will allow for immediate assistance. “One of the nurses or someone from the hospital can call me and let me know that they have somebody and one of the people from our organization can go up there the same day to help out with expenses in the initial stage.”
While NCFBCF is a statewide organization, the funds for the Avery/Mitchell Chapter come from the communities it serves.
“Essentially the way it works with the drink cans is we will place trailers at specific places throughout the county, then advertise to tell people what we do and encourage them to take their recyclable drink cans and leave them there. Once that trailer is full, we will take it to a recycling center that we have a special agreement with a recycling center in Gastonia that will give us top dollar for the cans,“ said Elliott.
According to Elliott, every penny raised can go to benefit children because volunteers will operate the organization locally.
“One hundred percent of all the money we take in goes to helping someone else. Nobody is on any kind of payroll,” said Elliott, who went on to explain that even if the need does not arise in Avery County, all funds will be donated to N.C. burn centers to help young burn victims at Christmas time. “We want to help as many people as we can as quickly as we can. It is a great organization that does a lot of good.”
Currently, two trailers are set up to receive aluminum cans for the Avery/Mitchell Chapter of NCFBCF, one at Linville Volunteer Fire Department for Avery County and one at Parkview Fire Department in Mitchell County. Established chapters in Charlotte and Gastonia donated the designated trailers to help give the fledgling Avery/Mitchell Chapter a strong start.
“I know it is a little inconvenient now,” admitted Elliott. “But our long term goal for fundraising is to put four of these trailers, strategically positioned, in each county.”
In addition to the trailers, Elliott is ready to provide trash receptacles bearing the NCFBCF logo. These receptacles can be placed in any business or office as a place for individuals to dispose of aluminum drink cans and contribute to a worthy cause. According to Elliott, a simple phone call will bring a volunteer firefighter to empty the receptacles once they are filled.
While Elliott hopes the trailers and the boxes will help build energy for the organization in Avery County, he is always on the lookout for energetic volunteers to help raise additional funds by organizing fundraising events.
For more information on the Avery/Mitchell Chapter of NCFBCF, the in-business receptacles or volunteering, contact Elliott at (828) 733-2188.