The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, through the Everyone Goes Home^® Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives Program, plays a major role by helping the U.S. Fire Administration meet its stated goal to reduce the number of preventable firefighter fatalities.

The Everyone Goes Home^® Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives Program has approved a pilot program of the Champion Project in New Jersey.

Definition: An ardent defender or supporter of a cause or another person. He/She is a champion of the firefighter life safety.

Champions differ from leaders; champions personally and professionally combine passion, education, and drive with a mission. Through passion, they inspire others to do the same. Champions walk the walk, and talk the talk using, vision, passion, expectation, and resources. More so, champions work hard to pass that passion on to others by empowering others. Champions, champion a cause.

Organizational Champions are goal driven, inventive, systems oriented thinkers, are transformational and dedicated.

The Everyone Goes Home^® Champion will not be directly responsible to the program, but to their affiliated fire service organization. They are expected to become familiar with the Everyone Goes Home^® Program and most importantly the 16 Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives.

They will be the key person at the grass roots level - making sure their organization has the ability to gather and integrate resources from the EveryoneGoesHome.com website into their fire service organization. Once nominated and approved by their organization, they can then be registered with the Everyone Goes Home^® Program.

Champions are firefighters who are passionate about improving firefighting practices within their organization. They must be a fire service member who will have the organizational and/or unit-program level influence. These Champions will:

• Bring awareness of the 16 Initiatives to their organization
• Distribute and influence groups within their organization to consider best practices
• Mobilize, coordinate, and facilitate training and development within their fire service organization
• Communicate with their Everyone Goes Home® State Advocate on 'best practices' within their organization.

If you and your fire service organization are up to this challenge, please complete the Champion registration, which includes the endorsement of the Chief/Executive of your organization.

Together we will make a cultural change.

Greg W. Collier, New Jersey Advocate
everyonegoeshome@comcast.net