James
January
A
statement from James January, Founder
of The January Foundation
I was
burned September ’91. I was Branched but not Commissioned,
Regular Army, Military Intelligence…a fancy way of saying
that I got burned my senior year of college. At age 21,
everything I worked for went up in smoke. After a period
of struggle, due to both my injuries and a search for something
that would challenge me, I became involved with the North
Carolina Jaycee Burn Center. Since ’93, I have immersed
myself in anything that deals with burn survivors and their
family and friends, anyone who works with burn survivors,
and the prevention of burn injury. Many of the programs
that deal with these issues were in place long before I
got drafted into the burn business…
I just added to them.
Any
program designed to work beyond the hospital doors…anything
dealing with the prevention of burn injury, life beyond
a burn injury, or getting the patient from living to thriving
in spite of a burn injury…functions best with a burn survivor
as part of the team.
Not
just any burn survivor will do. The individual must be educated,
well trained, highly motivated, and fearless. Whether it
is expanding on the subject matter of burns for P.T. students,
encouraging classmates to be supportive during a school
re-entry, or one on one counseling, you must know what needs
to be said and the best way to say it.
Come
in a blaze of glory…You want your audience to pay close
attention, make them laugh or cry at the right time, to
leave saying "damn, he is the man…all attitude, baby…oh
yeah!" You have to be able to walk into a patient’s
room, immediately determine their stage of recovery, and
react. You have to turn the attention span of 1st
graders into 15 minutes of mesmerized silence and keep bored
college students entertained so you can get your message
across. You have to know when the child you are with is
ready to answer the questions of classmates.
The
education and training takes a little time. And there are
motivated and fearless individuals in the burn populace.
I am one who believes in doing whatever it takes to accomplish
the mission and, in one way or another; the goal is to always
help burn survivors like myself.
Very
few burn survivors are able to volunteer the time required
to be a major player in many of the programs that would
benefit from their participation. We seek to create a relationship
between the burn center and a non-profit. This will ensure
that the idea is maximized to its potential, creating the
possibility of bringing in and training other local burn
survivors and expanding the ideas of our burn center beyond
NC…insuring the longevity of what continues to grow into
something special.
I have
already put events into motion that have created a non-profit
and I am exploring the possibilities of sponsorship via
corporate and private support. A burnt guy who scuba dives,
skydives, is a soon to be pilot, and rides a Harley has
to have some attraction for sponsorship. Add to that the
interest from a few burn survivors I have thrown the idea
at, and the potential is there.
The
immediate goal is to make this last beyond my limited financial
capabilities. After that, to create a situation where other
educated, well trained, highly motivated, and fearless burn
survivors could do what I do and only be sacrificing their
time. After that..
