On August 10, 2018, the Manteca Firefighters IAFF 1874 had another amazing, annual golf tournament to benefit the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation (AARBF) and local charities. Golfers from the Manteca community and local fire departments came out and supported the Manteca Firefighters in their efforts to raise donations to send kids to Champ Camp. It was a fun and successful event that we look forward to every year. We cannot express how grateful we are for Manteca Fire Department’s continued support.

Manteca Fire Department also hosts lunch on the last day of our Northern California Ski Trip for Burn Survivors each year. A special thank you to Firefighter, Franco Torrice and his wife, Tedra, for all their hard work in making this tournament a huge success!

On August 21 and 22, 2018, the entire Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation team was able to get together in our El Cerrito office to discuss our 2018 accomplishments thus far and to plan for an amazing 2019. We are so grateful for the opportunity we had to get together before our Executive Director, Jennifer Radics-Johnson, went on maternity leave. We also revealed our new logo, website and branding designs. We are so excited to begin implimenting these changes, check out www.aarbf.org, to see some of the changes already instated.

We also took some time to do a great team building excerise and show off our creatives sides at Brushstrokes in Berkely, CA (pictured above). It is rare for our entire team to be able to meet in person and bainstorm; we cherish times like these and the amazing ideas & plans that come from it.

Despite a September 9th due date, Jaden Radics Johnson had her own plans on when she would enter into this world. She was born August 25, 2018, at 11:14pm at 6 pounds 10 ounces and 19 inches. From the moment she arrived, she was absolutely in love with her daddy and could not take her eyes off of him. The whole family is now home and happily together. Even their puppies, Ace and Abbie, are adjusting to having a baby in the house. They expressed how grateful they are for the love and support that they’ve received from friends and family, especially Grandma Johnson. Jaden is so lucky to enter into this world with so many loving and caring family members and friends!

We are so grateful for the generous folks at the Los Angeles Sparks who have donated tickets to us throughout the year for burn survivors and their families to attend their home games at the Staples Center. A huge thank you to The Los Angeles Sparks Community Partner Program, 130 tickets have been distributed this season so far!

We’ve been able to attend home games against the Washington Mystics on July 7th, the Indiana Fever on July 20th, the Phoenix Mercury on August 5th and the New York Liberty on August 14th. Go Sparks!

On August 18, 2018, AARBF Central California Regional Manager, Erika Mendoza-Corona, was able to attend the Hell of a Half Marathon in Exeter, CA. We are so grateful that Sole 2 Soul Sports continues to support AARBF with this amazing race! The title of this grueling half marathon describes it perfectly and we were inspired to see so many runners out there accomplishing their goals and crossing the finish line after 13.1 miles in the pleasantly warm weather. Our very own Holly “Redvine” Cartozian took part in the marathon and it was beyond amazing to see her in action!

AARBF was very lucky to have burn survivor and volunteer, Lucy “Sprout” Herrera, out at the prevention booth teaching the kiddos about the importance of “Stop, Drop and Roll” and other burn prevention tips.

On August 24, 2018, the South San Francisco Firefighters Local 1507 their 4th Annual Bocce Ball Tournament and they were able to raise and donate an amazing $10,000 that was presented at the 2018 Peninsula Firefighters Burn Relay on September 17. 50 people participated in the tournament this year with The Gas Guys team coming out on top! A total of approximately 75-80 people came out to support. Champ Camp legend and retired San Francisco Firefighter, Mike “Otter” Gonzalez and his wife, Camp Mom Evie “Mouser,” attended as well and although they didn’t take home the victory, they sure enjoyed spreading the word about the important work that AARBF does. We had such a wonderful time and love attending this special event every year. A big thank you to South San Francisco Fire Department Firefighter, Anthony Fiscaro, for organizing this fantastic event!

On August 25, 2018, AARBF was invited to attend Selma’s “Bringing broken Neighborhoods back” event. AARBF partnered with CRMC and the Selma Fire Department in teaching the Selma community about Stop, Drop and Roll. Not only did we teach the kiddos about Stop, Drop and Roll, but the adults also had some fun and practiced their skills on the mat! AARBF also addressed the importance of safety plan’s in a home and brought awareness about scald burns. Our very own Champ Camp Counselor and Hanford Firefighter, Scott “PoinDexter” Mellon, came by to say “hi” and introduced his kiddos to Champy! About 500 people attended this great event and learned a lot about their community resources.

We now have an easy way you can make a big difference just by going about your day. Our new app lets you live your life and do good — at the same time!

The app is called My Donations to AARBF and you can find it in the Apple App Store by searching AARBF or by clicking here. It’ll be available for Android phones soon!

Every time you use a linked account we will automatically round up your purchase to the nearest dollar, and that spare change will be donated to help our important work. Here’s how it works: When you make a purchase, like $65.49 on groceries or $8.76 for lunch, we will round up to the nearest dollar and all those nickels, dimes and quarters will be donated to AARBF. And don’t worry, you can cancel at any time.

Please take a moment to download our app today, every little bit helps!

Volunteer Opportunities:

• Ongoing: El Cerrito Region Volunteer Opportunities
  • Please contact Anne “Kimchi” Hildebrand at ahildebrand@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 help organizing the toys from our annual Holiday Drive. We are settling into our new offices and need help putting them into storage/organizing them to be distributed throughout the year and next holiday season.
    • Connections needed! We are looking for a new therapist for support group facilitation and for a food sponsor for the East Bay Support Group (1x/month).
  • 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 burn prevention community outreach events:
      • October 6^th: Tulare Fire Department Open House
        • From 9am-2pm at Fire Station #62 (138 North “E” St.)
      • October 9^th: CRMC Event
        • From 8:30am-2pm at Community Regional Medical Center
      • October 11^th: Reedley Fire Department Open House
        • From 5:30 – 8:00 pm at 11^th and D Streets in Reedley, CA
      • October 14^th: Hanford Fire Department Open House
        • From 9am-2pm at Hanford Civic Center Park

Upcoming Events:

• October 2: (7:00pm – 8:30pm), Santa Clara Valley Medical Support Group, contact Anne “Kimchi” Hildebrand at ahildebrand@aarbf.org or 415-495-7223 x19 with any questions.
• October 3: (6:30pm – 8:00pm), East Bay Burn Support Group, contact Anne “Kimchi” Hildebrand at ahildebrand@aarbf.org or 415-495-7223 x19 with any questions.
• October 6: Menlo Park Firefighter’s Association Pancake Breakfast, contact Stephanie “Pocahontas” Boydell at sboydell@aarbf.org or 415-495-7223 Ext. 17 with any questions.
• October 6: Mark Goodman Memorial Chili Cook-off in South San Francisco, contact Stephanie “Pocahontas” Boydell at sboydell@aarbf.org or 415-495-7223 Ext. 17 with any questions.
• October 7: (1:30pm – 3:30pm), SoCal Survivors Support Group, contact Margarita “Cubby” Rodriguez, mrodriguez@aarbf.org or 818-848-0223 Ext. 16 with any questions.
• October 7 – 13: Fire Prevention Week
• October 9: (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.
• October 10: (6:30pm – 8:00pm), Santa Rosa Support Group, contact Anne “Kimchi” Hildebrand at ahildebrand@aarbf.org or 415-495-7223 x19 with any questions.
• October 11: Central Coast Fire Chiefs Burn Relay, contact Stephanie “Pocahontas” Boydell at sboydell@aarbf.org or 415-495-7223 Ext. 17 with any questions.
• October 13: Facebook Festival and Menlo Park Fire 5k Run, contact Stephanie “Pocahontas” Boydell at sboydell@aarbf.org or 415-495-7223 Ext. 17 with any questions.
• October 13: Moraga-Orinda Fire Department Pancake Breakfast, contact Stephanie “Pocahontas” Boydell at sboydell@aarbf.org or 415-495-7223 Ext. 17 with any questions.
• October 13: Sunnyvale DPS Pancake Breakfast, contact Stephanie “Pocahontas” Boydell at sboydell@aarbf.org or 415-495-7223 Ext. 17 with any questions.
• October 13: Albany Fire Department Open House and Pancake Breakfast, contact Stephanie “Pocahontas” Boydell at sboydell@aarbf.org or 415-495-7223 Ext. 17 with any questions.
• October 25: (11:30am – 1:00pm), Saint Francis Hospital Burn Support Group, contact Anne “Kimchi” Hildebrand at ahildebrand@aarbf.org or 415-495-7223 x19 with any questions.
• October 30: 22^nd Annual ACFFA Golf Tournament in Livermore, contact Stephanie “Pocahontas” Boydell at sboydell@aarbf.org or 415-495-7223 Ext. 17 with any questions.