Some big news for our survivors and volunteers in Southern California – we are no longer based in the office on Hill Avenue in Pasadena. Having closed that office, we will now be more agile to meet and gather at places throughout the Los Angeles/Southern California region, but won’t have a centralized office space.

Our new headquarters and mailing address is: Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation, 44 Montgomery Street, 3rd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94104. This is a large multi-business building so please be sure to include “3rd Floor” in all correspondence so that it can reach us in a timely manner.

For any of your questions about SoCal events or needs, call Andrew/Monkey at 818-848-0223 Ext 160 or email: amersmann@aarbf.org. (Please note, our phone extensions have changed to a 3-digit number, Andrew is now 160 instead of 16.)

Champ Camp Planning Retreat

AARBF’s program staff held an in-person retreat, January 13th-16th, to discuss all things Champ Camp. A great deal of time and talent goes into making camp a success year after year. We would not be able to accomplish this without the wonderful group of volunteers who make up our program staff. This retreat is just the start of the countless hours this team will spend leading up to through camp week in June. We are so grateful for their time, aspirations, and love for camp.

If you are interested in being a counselor or counselor in training (CIT) (ages 18-20 years) for this year’s camp, please visit: http://app.campdoc.com/register/aarbf, select “Register for New Session” to find the application for Champ Camp Counselor and CIT. If you have any questions, please reach out to McKenzie “Bubbles” Dern at mdern@aarbf.org.

Staff Planning Retreat

AARBF staff met in-person for their bi-annual retreat on January 25th – 27th in Las Vegas. Did you know we have two board members who call the Las Vegas area home? For that reason, and also to connect with our friends at the Lions Burn Care Center UMC, we chose to hold both the staff and board retreats in Las Vegas.

The time was filled with much discussion about exciting changes in the weeks ahead. Some of them have already begun with the closure of the Pasadena office and move of the Northern office to San Francisco. Although our headquarters have moved, we are still very present in Southern and Central California. We are looking forward to the extra flexibility we will have not being restricted to a single location. Also discussed were changes to our staff, including new job openings which will be announced soon. But it wasn’t all work, we enjoyed a team building activity at the Meow Wolf Mega Mart experience. It was a great retreat and we very much enjoyed the opportunity to get to know one another better and share much laughter.

Board and Council Retreat

On Friday, January 27th, board and council members arrived in Las Vegas to start their in-person and virtual retreat. They first met up with staff before heading to the Lions Burn Care Center UMC for a tour of the burn unit. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet the burn unit staff who treat the children we invite and welcome to our camp programs each year.

The board retreat continued with an all-day planning session on Saturday that included members who could not attend in-person joining virtually. The January retreat is important because it allows the time to focus on the strategic plan and set goals for the year. Something that cannot be as effectively accomplished due to time constraints in the regular monthly meetings. Board and council members met again Sunday morning before heading home.

If you are interested in volunteering with AARBF, we have several committees from Communications to Survivor Services to Prevention. Please contact us at info@aarbf.org for more information.

On January 10th, we were excited to see the return of in-person support at the Community Regional Medical Center. The support group will be held each month, typically on the second Tuesday, in the Community Room at Station 15, 5630 E Park Circle Drive from 6pm – 8pm. If you are unable to make it in person, you can still join via Zoom.

We are working towards returning all regional support groups to in-person experiences this year. We will still have statewide support groups available via Zoom, including Spanish Support. To learn more, please contact Scott “Scooter” Wertz at swertz@aarbf.org.

You can also keep up with the latest burn survivor news and get access to early event registration by joining our monthly email list. Registering is easy, simply email info@aarbf.org and ask to be added. Be sure to include your name and your region.

On January 12th – 16th, AARBF sent one survivor and one counselor to attend the Thrive Retreat at Big White Ski Resort in Canada. This annual retreat is hosted by the BC Firefighters Burn Fund and is designed for young adult burn survivors, ages 18-25. Thrive empowers young adult burn survivors, preparing them with the knowledge and tools necessary to help navigate the demands of adulthood as burn survivors. For many survivors, Thrive is the next step once graduating from burn camp and helps with the transition to adulthood.

This year, we were able to connect with thirteen survivors from across British Columbia, participating in the multiple workshops and activities. It is so exciting to attend exchange programs with other camps and burn foundations. By doing so we have the opportunity to visit their incredible locations and events and exchange ideas to enhance our local camp programs!

Our friends and supporters at the Fresno Fire Chief’s Foundation have a goal to support the local heroes in our community and they are committed to investing in safety education and fire prevention programs. Each year they generously donate to AARBF to help us continue providing programs and services to the Central Valley and throughout the state. We are grateful for their unwavering support of our mission to significantly reduce the number of burn injuries through prevention education and to enhance the quality of life of those affected by burn injuries, in California.

February 17-20: Young Adult Summit

February 17-20: The Adult Retreat

February 20: ALL AARBF Office Closed

March 2: (7:00pm – 8:30pm), Caregiver Online Support Group, contact Scott “Scooter” Wertz at swertz@aarbf.org or 415-495-7223 Ext. 19 to receive log-in information.

March 3-5: Women’s Empowerment Weekend

March 5: (1:30pm – 3:30pm), SoCal Survivors Support Group, contact Andrew “Monkey” Mersmann at 818-848-0223 Ext. 16 or amersmann@aarbf.org to receive log-in information.

March 7: (7:00pm – 8:30pm), Santa Clara Valley Medical Support Group, contact Scott “Scooter” Wertz at swertz@aarbf.org or 415-495-7223 Ext. 19 to receive log-in information.

March 8: (6:30pm – 8:00pm), East Bay Burn Support Group, contact Scott “Scooter” Wertz at swertz@aarbf.org or 415-495-7223 Ext. 19 to receive log-in information.

March 9: (7:00pm – 8:30pm), Burn Care Professionals Online Support Group contact Scott “Scooter” Wertz at swertz@aarbf.org or 415-495-7223 Ext. 19 to receive log-in information.

March 10-12: Statewide Ski Trip

March 14: (6:30pm – 8:00pm), Fresno Community Regional Medical Center Support Group, contact Scott “Scooter” Wertz at swertz@aarbf.org or 415-495-7223 Ext. 19 register.

March 16: (7:00pm – 8:30pm), Statewide Online Support Group, contact Scott “Scooter” Wertz at swertz@aarbf.org or 415-495-7223 Ext. 19 to receive log-in information.

March 21: (6:00pm – 7:30pm), Spanish-Speaking Online Burn Survivor Support Group, contact Andrew “Monkey” Mersmann at 818-848-0223 Ext. 16 or amersmann@aarbf.org to receive log-in information.

March 25: Torrance Firefighters Association Spaghetti Dinner & Bake Sale

March 30: (11:30am – 1:00pm), Saint Francis Support Group, contact Scott “Scooter” Wertz at swertz@aarbf.org or 415-495-7223 Ext. 19 to register.