Professional Fire Fighters of Wisconsin Charitable Foundation

MISSION STATEMENT:
The mission of the Professional Fire Fighters of Wisconsin Charitable Foundation is to champion community risk reduction initiatives; promote fire safety and prevention; and deliver meaningful support to burn survivors, fire fighters and communities.

VISION STATEMENT:
The vision of the Professional Fire Fighters of Wisconsin Charitable Foundation is for all those we serve to be healthy, safe and supported in their lives and in their communities.

The PFFWCF’s Programming includes:

Burn Survivor Support Program – supports burn survivors of all ages and in all stages of recovery.
o Summer Camp for Burn Injured Youth – a free summer camp for kids ages 7 to 17 with life altering burn injuries.
o Winter Leadership Retreat for Young Adult Burn Survivors – a weekend retreat for burn survivors ages 18 to 25 that builds life skills and promotes emotional healing.
o Support and Coordination with Wisconsin Burn Centers; Ascension Columbia St. Mary’s Regional Burn Center, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, and University of Wisconsin Burn Center.
o Burn Survivor Academic Scholarship
o Burn Survivor Grant to attend outside programming.
o Burn Awareness and Prevention Campaigns

- Fire Prevention Program – promotes fire safety through education and proactive initiatives to reduce risk.
o Fire Safety Newspapers in Education – a Fire Safety Newspaper distributed in 11 Gannett Sunday Newspapers throughout Wisconsin on the Sunday to commence Fire Prevention Week and made available for all 4th – 8th grade students in more than 2,200 schools.
o Wisconsin Smoke Alarm Fire Education (WisSAFE) Coalition – provides in home education while checking and installing smoke alarms.
o Wisconsin Fire Sprinkler Coalition – works to identify and overcome the barriers to the acceptance of fire sprinklers.

- Fire Fighter Support Program – supports fire fighters so they can better serve their communities.
o Disaster Assistance – provides immediate assistance to fire fighters and/or their families at their darkest time and greatest of need.
o Health and Safety – increasing health, wellness, and mental health, while working to decrease the incidence of occupational cancer in the fire service.
o Support of the PFFW State Honor Guard
o Support of the Wisconsin State Fire Fighters Memorial

- Community Support Program – reduces risk and enhances the work fire fighters do in their communities both on and off duty.
o Grant Program – makes quarterly grants as determined by the PFFWCF Board of Directors.

Awareness.

Education.

Support.

Action.

The Professional Fire Fighters of Wisconsin Charitable Foundation has experienced staff and partnerships that have implemented, managed, and completed similar smoke alarm check/installation, fire education and home safety inspection programs as part of a comprehensive home fire safety campaigns throughout our state.

Recently, we have shared a lot of success with our partners with the various smoke alarm installation, fire prevention and education programs we have developed, implemented, and completed.

Our experience stems from a 3-prong approach to smoke alarm check/installation, education and home safety inspection programs has been most successful for us. Smoke alarm and fire safety checks are done by appointment all year long. We also canvas target audiences door-to-door offering to perform smoke alarm checks/installations. Lastly, we canvas the immediate neighborhood where a house fire has taken place and offer to perform smoke alarm checks/installations while the devastating effects of fire is right in front of them and the importance of fire prevention is on their minds.

What we are hoping to accomplish with the award of this grant is to enhance our smoke alarm check/installation, fire education and home safety inspection programs throughout the State of Wisconsin. By utilizing smoke alarms powered by non-removable, non-replaceable batteries that power the alarm for a minimum of 10-years and are enclosed within a tamper resistant housing. Thus, providing a long-term solution versus replacing missing and/or dead batteries.

In conjunction, we have a very proactive board and committees that support fire prevention and safety through our other programs (burn survivor, fire safety publications (550,000+ copies printed annually and distributed to 2,100+ schools), and support for fire sprinklers and safety trailers to name a few).

As you can see we have quite a bit of experience and expertise not only in programs that are similar to what we are proposing, but to fire prevention and safety in general.

The Professional Fire Fighters of Wisconsin Charitable Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity working to create a fire-safe and burn-free Wisconsin. We prevent fires and burns through education, safety initiatives, and support burn survivors, fire fighters, and communities Statewide. We cannot thank you enough for your support, you make a difference in the lives of the people we serve.

Highlights of 2020 Programming Accomplishments
Burn Survivor Support Program
• Hosted our 26th Annual Summer Camp for Burn Injured Youth / first ever virtual Burn Camp.
• Welcomed burn survivors to Wisconsin Dells for our Winter Leadership Retreat for Young Adult Burn Survivors.
• Hosted our 1st Annual Burn Ball benefitting the new UW Burn Center.
• Worked to have the Governor proclaim the first week in February as Burn Awareness Week.

Fire Safety & Prevention Program
• Produced and released our 23rd Annual Fire Safety Newspapers in Education statewide.
• Received a generous FEMA grant for a statewide smoke alarm installation campaign.
• Partnered with Adams Collaborate to post fire safety billboards around Madison.
• Continued to work for fire safety and burn prevention through WisSAFE and WFSC.

Fire Fighter Support Program
• Supported the PFFW Honor Guard.
• Continued to assist the Wisconsin State Firefighters Memorial
• Began a fire fighter mental health research project with Rogers Behavioral Health.
• Distributed hand cleanser produced by Tito’s Handmade Vodka to Wisconsin fire departments.
• Provided assistance to fire fighters and their families.

Community Support Program
• Awarded a grant to the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
• Awarded a grant to the Green Bay Firefighters Historic Preservation Foundation.

Please check out our website, facebook, and/or our newsletter for more information.