In honor of National Burn Awareness Week (NBAW), February 5th – 11th, AARBF shared burn prevention messaging through our social media channels. NBAW was created by our friends at the American Burn Association and is an annual initiative to bring together burn, fire, and life-safety educators to educate the public about the devastation and causes of burn injuries, along with the steps you can take to prevent them. This year’s theme was “Hot Liquids Burn Like Fire” and we spent the week highlighting different ways to prevent burn injuries in our everyday lives.

On February 7th, AARBF’s McKenzie Dern made some new friends while attending the Porsche Club of America’s Sequoia Region monthly dinner. Each year the club selects a local charity to support and AARBF was selected as their 2022 recipient. While at the dinner, McKenzie was presented with a check for $2,500! Thank you to the Porsche Club of America for selecting AARBF. We greatly appreciate your generosity and support.

From February 17th -20th, AARBF had the pleasure of welcoming twenty-five amazing young adults to Camp Ocean Pines in Cambria for the annual Young Adult Summit. Throughout the weekend, we fostered connections among participants and facilitators, building on the foundation of our other camp programs. We were able to add to campers’ toolboxes with workshops on Home Repair, Auto Repair, W4’s, Body Image, hosting an Etiquette Dinner, and so much more. Spending time together among the Cambrian tidepools was a highlight for attendees. Participants included young adults from Canada and Chicago, who joined us through a participation program with their local burn foundations.

This weekend would not have been possible without the dedication of our wonderful volunteers: Chief, Buc, Zinger, Butterbean, Buggy, Kamikaze, Blondie, Stretch, Freckles, and Captain. Thank you for making this a memorable experience for our attendees.

Camp Ocean Pines was the place to be over the President’s Day weekend (February 17th – 20th). Not only did we host our Young Adult Summit, but we had a group of twenty-seven burn survivors join us for the Adult Retreat. It was a full weekend of learning, growing and healing. We were able to hold several sessions on growing self-love and self-worth, body image, the next steps to healing, and so much more. The group took a field trip to the Piedras Blancas Light House, exploring and taking in the sights, and a special healing session included gifted Sound Alchemist, Kim Molloy, who led us in a Sound Bath Session. Thank you to our wonderful facilitators: Cindy, Marc, Christine, Tiffane, and Wendy, who made this a weekend to remember.

During the week of February 13th-17th, AARBF’s Daniel Chacon attended the California Fire Prevention Institute’s (CFPI) conference in Santa Barbara, CA. We were exhibitors at the event, showcasing the many prevention programs we offer to our communities throughout California. In addition, Daniel was able to participate in the Community Risk Reduction track and education sessions. It was great to see many of our fire department friends at the conference. Thank you to the CFPI Planning Committee for all of their hard work to make this conference a success.

On February 20th, AARBF’s Daniel Chacon, Andrew Mersmann, and McKenzie Dern were joined by Champ Camp Director “Rocks” and our Med Staff Liaison “Quincy” at the week-long American Camp Association (ACA) Conference. The team spent the week attending sessions on topics including: Inclusion, Diversity, Leadership, Medical Practices, and more, designed to help us continue to find ways to improve the camp experience for our attendees. In addition to session learning, the group had an opportunity to discuss best practices with leaders from camps located throughout the United States.

Each month, the staff at Russell Cellular supports a different local non-profit through their RC Cares Program. With stores located in California, Arizona, and Nevada, they provide a percentage of their sales on selected items to donate to their charity of choice. During the month of February, AARBF and Champ Camp were the beneficiaries of their efforts. At the end of the month, they presented a check to AARBF’s McKenzie Dern totaling over $3,200. Thank you, Russell Cellular!

Are you a burn survivor, or family member of a survivor, planning to enroll in a trade school, junior college, or university in the 2023/2024 academic year? If so, now is the time to start thinking about the AARBF “Bridge to Life” Scholarship offered by the Woody and Louise Reed family to support burn survivors and their family members pursuing higher education.

We know this time of year can be hectic with Spring Break around the corner, and class projects and finals, but a little bit of planning now can help make next year go more smoothly.

More information, including eligibility requirements, and a scholarship application is available at: https://forms.gle/HCaBGdzJeqz3qvxu8. For any further questions, please contact us at info@aarbf.org.

During the month of February, the Hanford Fire Department (Scott Mellon) and students from the Fresno City College (FCC) Fire Academy began their annual fundraising competition, culminating with the Fresno Urban Run on May 6th. The teams first complete for top fundraiser position leading up the Run. On race day, they race against each other (as well as many other teams) at the Fresno Urban Run.

Are you for Team Hanford or Team FCC? Support your team and help raise funds for AARBF at: https://p2p.onecause.com/fresnourbanrun2023, and cheer your team to victory!

March 25: Torrance Firefighters Association Spaghetti Dinner & Bake Sale

April 2: (1:30pm – 3:30pm), SoCal Survivors Support Group, contact Scott “Scooter” Wertz at swertz@aarbf.org or 415-495-7223 Ext. 19 to receive log-in information.

April 4: (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.

April 6: (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.

April 12: (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.

April 13: (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.

April 11: (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 to register.

April 15: AARBF 52nd Anniversary

April 16-22: Volunteer Appreciation Week

April 18: (6:00pm – 7:30pm), Spanish-Speaking Online Burn Survivor Support Group, contact Scott “Scooter” Wertz at swertz@aarbf.org or 415-495-7223 Ext. 19 to receive log-in information.

April 20: (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.

April 27: (11:30am – 1:00pm), Saint Francis Support Group, contact Scott “Scooter” Wertz at swertz@aarbf.org or 415-495-7223 Ext. 19 to register.