Belli Memorial Endowment and Scholarship

The John, Lynne, and Nicole Belli Memorial Endowment Fund is made possible by the generosity of the Belli family, who experienced the tragic loss of their son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter in a horrible automobile accident in Atlanta on January 26th, 2001. Lynne Belli and 15-month old, Nicole, died instantly as their vehicle burst into flames. John Belli, who was driving, held on for 11 days with burns over 75 percent of his body before succumbing to his injuries. John’s parent’s, Roy and Sara Belli, through their generosity and commitment to help burn survivors in need have provided a one million dollar endowment to the Georgia Firefighters Burn Foundation (GFBF) to provide both educational and psychosocial assistance to individuals who have experienced a severe burn injury. Their benevolence provides hope, encouragement, and opportunity to burn survivors throughout Georgia. The GFBF recognizes the value of this generous gift to help fulfill our mission to partner with the fire service and burn care community to provide fire safety and prevention education, support medical facilities and assist burn survivors in their recovery.

The John, Lynne, and Nicole Belli Memorial Endowment Scholarship Fund provides assistance for students who are planning to attend or who are currently attending accredited universities, colleges, and technical colleges.

Applicants must meet the following criteria to be eligible:

  • Applicant must have experienced a burn injury that can be documented by an authorized medical professional (i.e. Doctor, Charge Nurse, Medical Social Worker, etc.).
  • Applicant must be a legal Georgia resident for at least one year or been treated at either the Grady Burn Center in Atlanta or the JM Still Burn Center in Augusta.
  • Applicant must be between the ages of 16 and 26 and must currently be a high school senior, have earned a GED or high school diploma, or currently be enrolled in a university, college, or vocational/ technical college.
  • Applicant must be accepted to an accredited university, college, or vocational/technical college.
  • Applicant must be working towards a degree/certificate at the accredited university, college, or vocational/technical college.
  • Applicant must be in good standing and/or school standards are satisfactorily met at the institution of enrollment for annual scholarship renewal.
IMPORTANT DEADLINE INFORMATION

Applications must be submitted online by 11:59pm on the respective deadlines for consideration (March 23, 2018–Spring application or September 21, 2018–Fall application). Applications received after the deadline will be considered the following application period.

PLEASE NOTE: All supplemental application materials the applicant is responsible for (e.g. essay, invoice/billing statement, acceptance letter/enrollment verification, verification of burn injury, and release and agreement signature form) must be submitted at the same time.

Options include:

1. Uploaded at the end of the online application. Only PDF, Word, Excel, or JPEG files will be accepted. Maximum file size is 128MB.  If online, materials must be submitted by 11:59pm on March 23 (spring application) or September 21 (fall application).

2. Mailed to the GFBF office. If mailed to the GFBF office, materials must be postmarked on or before on March 23 (spring application) or September 21 (fall application).

All other supplemental application materials (e.g. transcripts and letters of recommendation) should be mailed to the GFBF office and postmarked on or before on March 23 (spring application) or September 21 (fall application) directly from the institution or individual.

Notification letters will go out on or before April 27, 2018 (spring application) and October 26, 2018 (fall application). Scholarship recipients will be recognized on the GFBF website.

APPLICATION AND SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS
Belli Requirements and Guidelines
Belli Information Needed
2018 Belli Scholarship Application
Belli Release and Agreement
Belli Verification of Burn Injury
Belli Schloarship Renewal Form

If you have any questions please contact Programs Director, Dana Dillard, at (404) 320-6223.

The Georgia Firefighters Burn Foundation, Inc. does not discriminate in any manner contrary to law or justice on the basis of race, color, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, disability, veteran’s status or national origin in its programs or activities.

Belli Scholarship Recipients

Spring 2016

Lauren Grigg
and
Chelsea Hodge

Fall 2015

Katherine Bostic

Spring 2015

Elizabeth Thomas

Fall 2014

Holden Folts

Spring 2014

Kendra Shaianne Payne
and
Karletta McCoy

Spring 2013

Drew Mobley