By Karen Haave
A little girl from Peotone is on Cloud 9 after a visit from some new special friends. Dixie Barclay recently won an adaptive bicycle through Friendship Circle’s Great Bike Giveaway. The happy three-year-old, who likes to sing and dance, was born with Spina Bifida. She has been through a lot in her short life, including enduring 12 surgeries, and uses a wheelchair to get around.
When Project Fire Buddies heard her story, they wanted to share some fun with her.
“I initially reached out to Project Fire Buddies when we were trying to win Dixie an adaptive bike after my neighbor told me about the organization,” Dixie’s mom, Jessica, explained.
“After reaching out and telling Dixie’s story, not only did they all vote for Dixie to win her bike, Chief Executive Officer and Founder Kurt Degroot called me and told me PFB would be welcoming Dixie into the Fire Buddies program through their Manhattan-Peotone Chapter. He connected me with Dylan Ledvina, president of Manhattan’s Chapter for PFB, who advised me they would be working on a special visit to meet and welcome Dixie and our family to the organization.
“During the following weeks, Dylan reached out and worked with me to learn about Dixie, her interests, and what types of activities she can participate in. He made sure everything was tailored specifically to her, such as a karaoke singing machine, Barbies, crafting activities, and a play makeup set – some of Dixie’s favorite gifts.
“He made sure to include Dixie’s older brother, Nolan, into the planning and brought him something special, too.
“Dylan sent me a text letting me know they were on their way, and we waited with Dixie at the end of our driveway. A few minutes later, fire trucks, ambulances, and police cruisers were coming down our street with the lights and sirens on. Dixie was shocked! Nine crew members came out of their vehicles with gift bags in hand, each greeting Dixie and telling her they were excited to meet her.
“Dixie was elated,” Jessica smiled.
“She thought it was her birthday! It was definitely a very memorable experience for her. As she sat on the floor with all her new buddies surrounding her and the giant pile of gifts, she smiled as she excitedly wanted to open and play with everything she unwrapped. She couldn’t wait to tell everyone she saw after the visit about how her ‘Fire Buddies’ came to her house. She can’t wait to play with her new ‘Fire Buddies’ again.
“We want to thank the Manhattan Peotone Fire Department and Project Fire Buddies for such a wonderful welcome to the program,” she said.
“It is truly amazing what this organization does for the families and children in the community, and we are so grateful for the opportunity. We look forward to growing our relationship with the Manhattan Peotone Chapter and welcoming them into our family!
“A special thank you goes to our neighbor, Melissa Eaheart, as well, for connecting us with PFB and capturing these memories for us to look back on for years to come.”
“Yes, we visited our newest fire buddy, Dixie!,” said Dylan Ledvina. “She was very sweet and happy to see us! We arrived to their residence about 5:30 on the 25th. We arrived with a couple fire trucks and ambulances, our deputy chief, and the Peotone Police Chief.
“Dixie was so excited when we arrived with plenty of gifts for her initial visit welcoming her as our fire buddy. We went inside with the family to open gifts. She opened everything with the help of her older brother, Nolan, who was very helpful and very sweet to his sister.
“She liked everything she received, I’d say her favorites were a Daniel’s Tiger music singalong, a karaoke machine, a bubble maker machine, and a mermaid Barbie.
“Us firefighters are very pleased to be able to give back to our community in so many special ways, and that is what this is all about. We are blessed to have these families associated with us, and that we are able to help in any way possible.
“In order for a child to become a fire buddy, their family must reach out to www.projectfirebuddies.org and apply online. If their child has a critical illness or is fighting cancer those are the children project fire buddies are trying to assist. Those applications get reviewed by administrators and go through the doctor for final approval.
“In order for a child to become a fire buddy, their family must reach out to www.projectfirebuddies.org and apply online. If their child has a critical illness or is fighting cancer those are the children project fire buddies are trying to assist. Those applications get reviewed by administrators and go through the doctor for final approval.
“Once a child is approved to be a fire buddy, CEO Kurt Degroot will reach out to the appropriate Chapter, and the Chapter’s board will take it from there.”
Project Fire Buddies’ first responder volunteers strive to make things a little happier for kids struggling with critical health issues. They visit during the holidays, bring toys collected in their annual Christmas toy drive, and take Halloween candy to kids who are too sick to trick-or-treat.
During their visits, it’s not unusual to see a dozen police officers, firefighters, and a favorite cartoon character jump out of emergency vehicles carrying piles of donated goodies for a fire buddy and their family to enjoy.
Volunteers also make time to visit their fire buddies throughout the year. On a typical visit, they might play a game of catch, help their fire buddy learn to ride a bike, read them a favorite story, or even take some whipped cream in the eye during a round of Pie Face—anything to make their fire buddy laugh and brighten their day!
Project Fire Buddies also invites kids in, giving personal tours of the fire house, and even cooking dinner and eating at the kitchen table with a child’s family. For teenagers, Project Fire Buddies makes sure to play it cool — avoiding the showier visits and focusing on making these older kids’ dreams come true, whether that’s finding tickets to their favorite team’s big game or pitching in for high quality headphones so they can relax with their favorite music.
