2010 Children’s Burn Foundation of Florida, Inc – Camp Tequesta
By Carrol Ann Stankovitz
Welcome to our nineteenth year of twenty-four hours of smiles, laughs, ice cream and cotton candy! Time has
really flown to bring us to our present state of time. Imagine our surprise when we arrived at camp. To our
delight, we were greeted with construction under way for an additional twenty-five cabins!
For the first time, our wonderful leader from the Disney days of camp flew in for the weekend. Trish Brant,
who worked at Reedy Creek Fire Department at the birth of our camp, joined in the fun with us. “Wow, this is
an incredible place for camp.” Trish commented, “It is so good to be back.” Ninety five children were invited
(eighty two attended) with their buddies from all over the State of Florida and Georgia. We converged at the
Florida Elks Youth Camp of Umatilla on Thursday, November 11, 2010 for four fun filled crammed days and
memories. Our group of volunteers that represented Boca Raton Fire-Rescue is Eric Alexander, Shelley
Griffith, Lenny Marraffino, Rhett Martin, Michelle Murphy, Pat Rea, Herbie Rothwell, Mike Sklark, Mike
Young and I. Tim Fry represented Ocean Rescue. He was on hand with Shelley as our bona fide lifeguards.
They also pitched in as buddies when needed.
We started our adventure on Thursday greeted at our buses with a smile from the welcoming committee at
camp. We were whisked to our wonderful goodie bags. This year each child got two brand new beautiful bath
towels, washcloths, socks and toiletries to keep. Tatiana said to me, “This is wonderful. It is exactly what I
need. I forgot to bring towels from home.” We were fortunate this year for the Boca Raton Sunrise Rotary for
raising $2,000.00 for literacy from their “Bartender’s Challenge” this past October between the Mayor Susan
Welchel of Boca Raton and Mayor Woodie McDuffie of Delray Beach. Wendy Kimelman of our board and
with the help of Barnes & Noble picked out several age appropriate books for the kids to take home with them.
“Wow”, Lizzie said, “We get three books each? I love to read. Thank you so much.” Luckily, everyone at
camp received much needed sweatshirts as the temperature dipped into the 50’s in the morning with highs in the
70’s as the day wore on. This year too, each child got a brand new sleeping bag. For their fourth year as
donors, the American Fire Sprinkler Association hit a home run coming through again with 200 sleeping bags
for the kids and their buddies. Chuck Akers, Executive Director said, “We really see the difference this four
days provides for the children’s and volunteer’s lives. Juanita, my wife comes every year to face paint anyone
and everyone. We are happy for the opportunity to assist the foundation any way we can.” Chuck is normally
assigned kitchen duty and he loves to see the smiles from the kids as they come up to the window to pick up
their food. Thank goodness the sun was out to Not to be outdone from last year, the giant slip and slide was
even larger and longer. “It always amazes me that the slide gets bigger and better every year.” exclaimed Olga
of Miami Jackson Memorial Hospital, “We sure are going to have a lot more fun!” When Lauren and Lina, slid
down the slide, they couldn’t believe how fast they went. “We’re going to keep going till it’s time to eat
supper! We need baby shampoo to go faster.” They have so much energy.
At our opening ceremony, we were graced with our founder, Trish Brant! Trish started the camp with Reedy
Creek Fire Rescue in Fort Wilderness, Disneyworld back in the “good old days”. She was thrilled to see how
the camp had grown. “It is wonderful to be here again. I have missed all my brothers, sisters and children.
Thank you for much inviting me.” Trish then revealed that she will soon be having surgery for a brain tumor.
She was extremely thrilled to be with us before this next challenge. In another humbling experience, Logan
Catalfu and Avi Toledano had a $500 fund raiser in Miami Beach in memory of their friend Alex Del Rio. Alex
was a police officer for the City of Miami Beach and killed in the line of duty. We also received $330 from 13
year old Ivy Greenberg. As Ivy tells it, “When I was 5 years old my fingers were caught in a treadmill. I had
deep second degree burns to both fingers and needed a skin graft. I still have scars on both fingers and people
ask me about them all the time. I wanted to help out other kids with burns and grafts because I remember every
time I look at my fingers how painful it was. Olga, Dr.Ward and everyone who worked at the Burn Clinic were
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great!" Ivy’s mom, Lisa added, “Olga and the Burn Unit are deep rooted in this family. I brought Ivy down
there when she hurt her fingers because I worked there for ten years with Olga, Robin and Dr. Ward before Ivy
was born. So it is a cause close to both of us! The money Ivy donated was part of her Bat Mitzvah.”
To end the opening ceremonies, our own Tatie from Boca Raton read her college essay for us. This is a must
read for everyone.
What Burn Camp Taught Me - My College Essay
By Tatiana Therassan
Fall 2010
Sixteen years ago, at the age of thirteen months, I suffered third degree burns on my left arm. At the
time, the physical pain was the main aspect of the injury that I had to deal with. But as I get older, while I feel
no physical pain, the emotional pain is not easy to describe.
I never really thought much of my scar as I grew up within my family circle because they had grown
accustomed to it. I started to realize there was something different about me when I started attending school.
Kids would stare or ask what had happened to me, because of this I became very aware of my burn and what
made me stand out. As a result, I began to wear only long-sleeve shirts and I would only wear bathing suits
around the closest family members.
Destiny put me in contact with Carrol Ann Stankovitz, a volunteer with the Children’s Burn Foundation
of Florida, Inc., and an employee at Boca Raton Fire-Rescue Services Department. Meeting this woman would
change my attitude toward my burn forever. She convinced my mother to let me attend a four day camp at the
Florida’s Elks Youth Camp in Umatilla, Florida that was especially for children with burns. For the first time I
felt comfortable in my skin because here I did not feel different. Being around other kids like me, I learned to
accept myself and not let my scar affect me emotionally anymore. I continue to attend the camp almost ten
years later. I volunteer and try to help other young girls understand that outward beauty is not only skin deep,
but instead, that our appearance is a reflection of who we are on the inside. Nowadays, I am a regular teenage
girl who wears short-sleeve shirts, tank tops, and bathing suits regardless of who is around.
I am not going to say that I am happy that I was burned, but I can say that it happened for a reason. My
disfigurements gave me a strong sense of character and an even stronger sense of myself. As a result, I have
gained a confidence that enables me to go after my goals, even in the face of seemingly insurmountable
obstacles. I also use my story as a way to always remind myself that that I should never be afraid to be
different.
That night we got to watch the movie “Marmaduke” on a portable two story big screen at the campfire area plus
the concession stand with all the snacks imaginable. Queen Irene of Tampa joked, “That is one big dog. Can
you imagine feeding him?”
Another fun filled day with all the action of the previous day plus more was planned for Friday. We traveled
to Alexander Springs for a day of snorkeling, sun bathing, games and of course – a barbeque. Cotton Candy
Dave said, “We want all the children to enjoy the passion of the underwater adventure, canoeing and the nature
trails.” The Professional Fire Fighters of Leesburg, Local 2957 cooked our hamburgers and hot dogs to
perfection and we had all we could eat! Steve commented, “This is our second year of being here. We love
volunteering with the kids and buddies. We love to lend a hand to our community anyway we can.” When we
returned to camp, our attention focused on crafts, cotton candy, ice cream, slip n’ slide and of course the heated
swimming pool. We continued to get our faces painted and laughed at ourselves in the mirror. Our day was
twenty-four hours of the clock plain old fun. That night PR’s Mexican of Winter Park came out for the 18th
time to feed our hungry faces! Perry, the owner said, “When Steve worked for Winter Park, he tried to close me
down. We became great friends and the rest is history. I keep showing up every year. I love doing it. I’m like
a thorn in your side; you can’t get rid of me.”
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That night we had our first talent exhibition. We had a lot of wonderful singers. Logan of Miami Jackson
bravely portrayed Justin Beiber to perfection. “It sure was a lot of fun! I couldn’t get over how well the fans,
bodyguards and press behaved for our skit!” Along with Logan were dancers, musicians and more singers! It
was a fun night for all.
Saturday morning we woke up to a warm beautiful Florida Sun. We were looking forward to the usual fun as
the day before. Thanks to the Marion County Fire Rescue's Technical Rescue Team, the Odyssey Obstacle
Course was running smoothly. Volunteer Extraordinaire Donna remarked, “It’s wonderful that these kids can
be kids and all are equal. They are a blessing to be with. We got a surprise visit by Dan Caro, a world
renowned accomplished drummer and motivational speaker. In 1982, when Caro was two years old, an event
changed his life forever. A pilot light flame ignited gas in his home garage, burning over 75% of Caro’s body.
He was flown to Shriners Hospital in Boston. He underwent countless surgeries and treatments for the majority
of his childhood. In the process, he lost his right hand and most of his left hand. But with the help of many
wonderful doctors, he had reconstructive surgery that would give him a working thumb on his left hand.
Without having any “real” hands, Dan is still able to fish, play baseball, do artwork and of course, play the
drums. He does this by securing a drumstick to one hand with a rubber band and sweat band using a thumb-like
finger to hold another stick with his other hand. Dan said, “We all have different challenges to face. I can’t do
it is not part of vocabulary.”
When he isn’t performing, Caro tours the country speaking about his life and
motivating around the country.
Queen Irene of Largo Fire Department invited the Fire and Iron Motorcycle group to camp for a third year. As
Irene sees it, “These great guys and gals see the difference we make in our kids lives and want to be part of the
solution. What can I say? We are all into this together.” They joined us for lunch and presented us with their
annual donation for camp. In the afternoon, the Air Care Team (trauma helicopter) of the Orlando Regional
Medical Center Level One Trauma Center flew in for a visit and showed off their helicopter and equipment to
our kids. “I love coming to burn camp every year,” Tatie of Boca Raton said, “I get to see all my friends and
it’s a great place to feel completely awesome in your skin.” Johnie added, “It’s the same as every year – loads
of fun!” That night we had a danced our life away to complete another wonderful day.
Mike Young told me, “Burn camp was another great success this year. It is really interesting to watch the kids
from all the years I have been attending grow up and become Burn Buddies themselves. You always leave
exhausted, but you can’t wait to get back again next year.” As one of our kids grew up to be a buddy, Leondra
added this comment, “You can inspire your child to be who they are, not who they ought to be." Leondra is an
amazing young lady. We are so fortunate to have her as part of our family and to make it such a great camp.
That night we had a danced our life away to complete another wonderful day.
At the end of the Sunday morning program, we bid our farewells. We are so proud of the work and fun that we
accomplish with these children and grateful for the contributions YOU have unselfishly made. Thank you one
thousand times.
Once again we have created another lifetime of memories for everyone. Next year’s dates are November 10th to
13th, 2011. We are having a pirate theme for camp this year. Look out Captain Jack Sparrow! Arrgh!
Published in the Fire Fighters of Boca Raton, Local 1560 Newsletter, March 2011
Author’s Email: castankovitz@bellsouth.net
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