February 2019 Burn Bulletin
It’s Better When We’re Together
During January 3 – 4, 2019 the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation (AARBF) staff came together for our first in-person all staff meeting of the new year. At this meeting, we reviewed the programs, services, and financials for the 2018 year and made plans to make 2019 our best year yet! We were able to get to know each other better, including enjoying delicious food and a salsa lesson together. As a staff that is spread out all over California, it is important that we get together to discuss big ideas to make AARBF even better and improve morale. We are so grateful for the opportunity to spend quality time together and find ways to improve our already awesome programs and services.
Check out our 2018 Year in Review video here! https://youtu.be/77hZ4Cz8_a0
A Board That Meets Together, Stays Together
On January 4 – 6, 2019, 10 Board and Council of Advisor members, along with our Executive Director, met for our first Board Retreat of the year. The staff was able to have lunch with the board and tour the LAC+USC Medical Center Burn Unit on January 4th before departing and allowing the Board to tackle some exciting challenges for 2019. We are so grateful for our new volunteer Council of Advisor members, as well as, our continuing Board and Council of Advisor members who work tirelessly throughout the year to make sure the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation (AARBF) is run transparently, efficiently, smoothly, and that we stay true to our mission.
Our Board and Council continue to provide invaluable leadership and wisdom as we plan out a fantastic 2019!
Ohana Means Family
The weekend of January 12-13, 2019; Jem, Apollo, Kika, Spaz, Jersey, Tex, Rocks, Kamikaze and Chief reunited at Wonder Valley Ranch to begin planning for Champ Camp 2019! Our stellar team of volunteers and AARBF staff came together to think about how we can make Champ Camp 2019 one of our best years yet! The team reflected on all of the positives from last year, like our wonderful returning counselors as well as the fantastic group of new counselors that were added to our camp family. All of our counselors exert so much passion for Champ Camp and we can feel it through their energy and dedication to this amazing week each and every year! A big topic of discussion was choosing the theme for this year. Many great ideas were discussed but the group came together and decided to make this year’s focus, our Champ Camp Family which is why the chosen theme for 2019 is Champ Camp Ohana! Champ Camp Ohana will run June 8-15, 2019, and will include daily Disney-like characters and themes like Marvel and Pixar! We are so very excited for Champ Camp Ohana this year and can’t wait to kick it off with so much energy, love and positivity in just four months!
Junior Miss Antelope Valley Pageant Gives Back
On January 26, 2019, 14 young women competed in the Annual Junior Miss Antelope Valley Pageant. Beyond just a pageant of talent and intellect, these outstanding young ladies also raised an amazing combined total of $4,348 for AARBF and Champ Camp through this event! These compassionate and kind young women are dedicated to making their community better and we are so honored to be a part of that. Congratulations Junior Miss Mojave, Kaedance Collette, for winning the crown this year!
“Each year, the Junior Miss Community Queens raise money for local charities. This year, the Junior Miss Antelope Valley Queen chose Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation, a program designed to help burn survivors. The queens spent time at fire service day, raising funds to send burn survivors to summer camp.”
Read more at the Antelope Valley Press here.https://www.avpress.com/showcase/support-the-junior-miss-antelope-valley-pageant/article_bf8f5e98-204f-11e9-9763-23f751bda077.html?fbclid=IwAR0LHdZEMudkTooBPGZzex8pdjq46rPynbWRyE8B6RdyFd6CEXp7MaQVSR0
Welcome Jasmin, our New Southern California FISE Intern!
Jasmin Paneda began her role as the Southern California “Firefighters in Safety” (FISE) intern in September 2018. Jasmin graduated from UC Berkley and substitute teaches for the Arcadia School District. Jasmin is also a burn survivor and we are excited to welcome her as the new Firefighters in Safety Education (FISE) Intern in the Southern California Region!
Jasmin is currently working with the Los Angeles County Fire Department to get FISE going within the Mountain View School District and LAUSD/ East LA Region Schools. Jasmin has successfully scheduled FISE presentations for March and April. She is also working on getting more firefighters trained in the El Monte, CA area.
Jasmin is a hard-worker and we are very fortunate to have her on the AARBF team!
Babes Crazy about Tennis and AARBF!
The “Babes” are a tennis-loving group of very active seniors, mostly ages 65+, but a few that are more than 80 years old. Tennis is a life-time sport and they are proving it! They started out as a 65-and-over team years ago and some of them still play in competitive leagues but all play 2-3 times a week for fun in Sunnyvale, CA at the Las Palmas courts. They also get together for social and community improvement activities. For them, the highlight of their year is the annual Christmas party, complete with White Elephant gift exchange and a delicious pot-luck with lots of good cooks in their bunch. Susan Miller, a long-time Babe, was familiar with the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation (AARBF) through the volunteering of her son David “Shakespeare” Miller, and his wife Karen “Smiley” Miller, as counselors and AARBF board members over the years. They shared stories about the joy brought to burn survivor children who have been through so much, and the Babes came up with the idea of raising enough money to send a child to Champ Camp each summer; and they’ve accomplished that goal every year since! Thank you to the Tennis Babes for their continued support and dedication to AARBF and burn survivors.
March Hot List!
March Hot List!
Volunteer Opportunities:
• Northern California Volunteer Opportunities
Please contact Scott “Scooter” Wertz at swertz@aarbf.org or 415-495-7223 x19 if you have interest in any of the following:
– Each year, AARBF partners with the San Francisco Fire Department to educate thousands of kids in fire and burn prevention. This program also entails pre- and post- tests to track learning. We need help pairing students’ pre- and post- tests and scanning them so that they can be graded by a computer program and analyzed by a statistician.
– We need volunteers and drivers for our Northern California Ski Trip taking place March 8 – 10.
– General office administrative tasks such as printing, filing, mailings, data entry, organization, etc.
• Central California Volunteer Opportunities
Please contact Erika “Kika” Corona-Mendoza at ecorona@aarbf.org or 559-621-4016 if you have interest in volunteering for the following:
– We are always looking for volunteers to help spread burn prevention education in their local community at outreach events!
– We need volunteers and drivers for our Central California Ski Trip taking place March 3.
• Southern California Volunteer Opportunities
Please contact Margarita “Cubby” Rodriguez at mrodriguez@aarbf.org or 818-848-0223 x16 if you have interest in any of the following:
– We are always looking for volunteers to help spread burn prevention education in their local community at outreach events!
Upcoming Events:
• March 2: (1:00pm – 3:30pm), Southern California Ice Skating Day, contact Margarita “Cubby” Rodriguez at mrodriguez@aarbf.org or 818-848-0223 Ext. 16 with any questions.
• March 3: (1:30pm – 3:30pm), SoCal Survivors Support Group, contact Margarita “Cubby” Rodriguez at mrodriguez@aarbf.org or 818-848-0223 Ext. 16 with any questions.
• March 3: (4:00pm – 6:00pm), SoCal Grupo de Apoyo en Espanol, contact Margarita “Cubby” Rodriguez at mrodriguez@aarbf.org or 818-848-0223 Ext. 16 with any questions.
• March 3: Central California Ski & Snow Day, contact Erika “Kika” Corona-Mendoza at ecorona@aarbf.org or 559-621-4016 with any questions.
• March 5: (7:00pm – 8:30pm), Santa Clara Valley Medical Support Group, contact Scott “Scooter” Wertz at swertz@aarbf.org or 415-495-7223 x19 with any questions.
• March 6: (6:30pm – 8:00pm), East Bay Burn Support Group, contact Scott “Scooter” Wertz at swertz@aarbf.org or 415-495-7223 x19 with any questions.
• March 8 – 10: Northern California Ski Trip, contact Scott “Scooter” Wertz at swertz@aarbf.org or 415-495-7223 x19 with any questions.
• March 9: 48th Annual Torrance Firefighter’s Spaghetti Dinner and Bake Sale, contact Jan “Tabby” Share at jshare@aarbf.org or 818-848-0223 with any questions.
• March 12: (6:30pm – 7:30pm), Central California Burn Survivor Support Group, contact Erika “Kika” Corona-Mendoza at ecorona@aarbf.org or 559-621-4016 with any questions.
• March 13: (6:30pm – 8:00pm), Santa Rosa Support Group, contact Scott “Scooter” Wertz at swertz@aarbf.org or 415-495-7223 x19 with any questions.
• March 14: (6:30pm – 8:00pm), (NEW!) Modesto Support Group, contact Erika “Kika” Corona-Mendoza at ecorona@aarbf.org or 559-621-4016 with any questions.
• March 15: Champ Camp 2019 Counselor applications are due! The online application can be found here. Contact Daniel “Apollo” Chacon at dchacon@aarbf.org or 415-495-7223 x18 with any questions.
• March 23: Champ Camp New Counselor Interviews – Central California, contact Daniel “Apollo” Chacon at dchacon@aarbf.org or 415-495-7223 x18 with any questions.
• March 24: Champ Camp New Counselor Interviews – Northern California, contact Daniel “Apollo” Chacon at dchacon@aarbf.org or 415-495-7223 x18 with any questions.
• March 28: (11:30am – 1:00pm), Saint Francis Hospital Burn Support Group, contact Scott “Scooter” Wertz at swertz@aarbf.org or 415-495-7223 x19 with any questions.
• March 30: Champ Camp New Counselor Interviews – Southern California, contact Daniel “Apollo” Chacon at dchacon@aarbf.org or 415-495-7223 x18 with any questions.
If you missed any of our past Burn Bulletins, please check out our archives.
Just a reminder to go to www.aarbf.org; click on Upcoming Events, for the latest AARBF events and activities that need your support.