For 27 years, North Carolina’s electric cooperatives and industry partners have come together with a shared purpose: supporting the North Carolina Jaycee Burn Center at UNC Health Care and the life-changing care it provides to burn survivors and their families. Through the annual golf tournament fundraiser, that commitment has translated into more than $3 million in support since 1999.

Those contributions strengthen the burn center’s mission of providing the crucial combination of specialized medical care and rehabilitative services required by patients recovering from burn injuries.

“This event provides tremendous support for the work our team does to care for patients and their families,” said Dr. Booker T. King, division chief of burn surgery and director of the Complex Wound Program at the North Carolina Jaycee Burn Center. “The cooperatives have always been one of our biggest supporters, and their continued commitment to this fundraiser helps ensure we can provide the highest level of care.”

Through the participation of 36 teams and the generosity of 79 partners, the tournament raised $241,750 in support of the North Carolina Jaycee Burn Center’s mission, marking the highest fundraising total in the event’s history.

“The services the burn center provides are a blessing to all of us across North Carolina and beyond,” said Winston Howell, chief executive officer of Edgecombe-Martin County EMC and North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives’ representative to the Jaycee Burn Center. “This tournament is one of the ways we can thank them for their dedication and continue supporting a resource that directly benefits our communities.”

The golf tournament represents just part of a longstanding partnership. North Carolina’s electric cooperatives have been supporting the North Carolina Jaycee Burn Center since 1972.

John Stackhouse, a founder of the North Carolina Jaycee Burn Center and creator of Stackhouse Inc., saw firsthand how burns were impacting the electric industry. With a lack of adequate care for employees who suffered burns, Stackhouse, alongside the board of the Rural Electric Association, pledged $40,000 each to help establish a burn center.

Today, the North Carolina Jaycee Burn Center is among the five busiest burn centers in the country, admitting an average of 1,600 patients annually.

“We’re not only helping our patients recover from their burns, but also go on to lead fulfilling lives with improved quality of life,” said Dr. Alexandra Coward, assistant professor of burn surgery at the North Carolina Jaycee Burn Center. “The support of the cooperatives is deeply impactful for our patients, and we really couldn’t take care of people the way we do without this event.”

Beyond patient care, the burn center is committed to education, helping prevent burns before they happen through classes and community programs. With the support of the cooperatives, the burn center has been able to bolster these programs and expand its overall care capabilities.

“We’re so overwhelmed with gratitude for what the co-ops do here each year,” said King. “Thank you so much, from the bottom of our hearts.”

The North Carolina Jaycee Burn Center says its goal is to serve individuals and families across North Carolina, helping them return to happy and productive lives. The money raised by the cooperatives will help the center serve not only the patients it serves every day but also potentially save many others from burns before they occur.