Burn Bulletin

On March 8th – 10th, young burn survivors participated in the 26th annual Statewide Ski Trip. We had a great turnout with fifty-eight attendees coming together for a snowy weekend. Thirty-one burn survivors, three CITs, twenty-three volunteers, and one staff bundled up and got ready to take on their next adventure at Bear Valley Ski Resort. Participants could choose between skiing or snowboarding, and after taking lessons as a group, everyone was off to try the different mountain paths. Later, we met at Bear Valley Village where we rode snowmobiles through the beautiful village.

This weekend would not be possible without our year-to-year incredible sponsors: Stockton Firefighters Local 456, Murphys Fire Protection District, Ebbetts Pass Fire Protection District, Bear Valley Skyline Resort, Bear Valley Department of Public Safety, Bear Valley Snowmobile, Arnold Angels, Manteca Firefighters Local 1874 and Santa Clara County Firefighters Local 1165. We want to give a special thank you to our newest sponsor, Gold Country Roasters for providing our group with tasty morning drinks. Our sponsors fed our group and created snack bags for the go, provided shelter, provided all rental equipment and lessons on the mountain as well as provided fun experiences like snowmobiling through Bear Valley Village.

Our wonderful lead, Jack Rabbit coordinated the entire weekend with our sponsors and amazing group of volunteers and staff: Alpine, Cannonball, Starman, Ducky, Princess, Skipper, Tokyo, Rascal, Echo, Neon, Ricky Rescue, Kappa, Buc, Lentil, Mango, Chop Suey, Grizzie, Shred, Boba and Kika. We also welcomed six new incredible counselors: Ripley, Comet, Rooster, Jett, FireGoose, and Domino.

Thank you all for making this trip beyond incredible, core memories were made!

On Saturday, March 16th, we held our first ever Under-5 Monterey Bay Aquarium Trip for our little survivors (ages 0-5) and their families.

Our seven families, ten volunteers, and one staff member were graciously hosted by Monterey Bay Fire Station 11. A huge thank you to Raul, Phillip, and the Monterey Firefighters for going above and beyond with their kid-friendly snacks, yummy lunch, station tour, games, energy, and providing the space for our littles and the families to meet. Following the fire station, the group headed over to enjoy the rest of the day at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We were able to enjoy the different sea creatures including getting to explore the new “Deep Sea” exhibit.

Thank you to our volunteers: Poppy, Gidget, Kamikaze, Lil Bear, Kitty, Mee Mee, Daffodil, Hammerhead, Rye and friends for dedicating your time, love, and support in making this event great for the families and the littles. We look forward to seeing everyone throughout the year for our other family events.

Every year we share about how much fun our Champ Camp campers have at Wonder Valley in Sanger. This is your chance to experience all that Wonder Valley has to offer. Please join us on Sunday, April 21st from 11:30am to 3:30pm for their Family Day. Enjoy family activities and food trucks in partnership with Fresno Street Eats. Proceeds from this event will directly benefit AARBF’s Champ Camp.

For more information, please visit www.wondervalley.com.

Calling all cooks! The annual Champ Camp Chili Cook-Off will be held on Wednesday, June 12th during Champ Camp in Wonder Valley. If you’d like to join the fun, please register using the link below. Judging will be completed by the children attending camp, so please plan your recipe accordingly.

Please click here to register.

For more information, contact Erika “Kika” Mendoza at emendoza@aarbf.org.

Applications are open now through mid-June for the Woody and Louise Reed Bridge to Life Scholarship. This incredible program made possible by the Reed family awards scholarships to burn survivors or their immediate family members seeking post-secondary education after high school. This can be community college, college, university, or trade school and is open to all ages going directly into or returning to education.

For burn survivors pursuing higher academic degrees, Master’s level or Ph.D., use the same application for the Aiming Higher Scholarship to supplement your school cost and pave the way to your bright future.Find the link to apply by visiting our website at: https://www.aarbf.org/project/bridge-to-life-scholarship/

Champ Camp will be held at the Wonder Valley Resort in Sanger on June 8th – 15th. Camp is open to burn survivor children, ages 5-17. It is a great place for kids to be kids, making lasting friendships.

Register your child today at http://app.campdoc.com/register/aarbf, select “Register for a New Session” then select “Champ Camp – Camper 2024.”

For questions, please contact Erika “Kika” Mendoza at emendoza@aarbf.org.

If you would like to support these young burn survivors, please consider joining or forming a team as part of our Champy-On fundraiser. Click here to register or make a one-time donation beginning April 15, 2024.

AARBF honored National Burn Awareness Week (BAW), February 4th -10th by sharing burn prevention messaging created by our friends at the American Burn Association. BAW 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 and the steps you can take to prevent them. This year’s theme was “Flammable Liquids.” We shared tips throughout the week to show ways to prevent burn injuries to keep you and your family safe.

On Friday, February 16th, the fire academy students from the Fresno City College (FCC), Class 61 hosted a car wash accepting donations for this year’s Fresno Urban Run fundraiser. By the end of the day, the FCC team had met their fundraising goal of $5,000. Way to go, Team FCC!

This awesome group of cadets has pledged to keep going and has increased their goal to $10,000. We are looking forward to seeing what other events they have planned to help them reach their fundraising goal and gain “Top Team” bragging rights.

We have three teams competing in this year’s fundraiser. You can help FCC reach their new goal or catch up one of the others by visiting: https://p2p.onecause.com/fresnourbanrun2024 and click on Donate Now. Be sure to indicate the team you wish to support near the top of the donation form.

The date of the run day has been changed and is now scheduled a month earlier on Sunday, April 7, 2024. If you are interested in participating in the run, please visit https://www.adventuresignup.com/Race/CA/Fresno/FresnoUrbanRun for all of the details.

Over the Presidents’ Day weekend, February 16th -19th, a group of thirty young adults came together at Camp Ocean Pines in Cambria for the Young Adult Summit (YAS). This year’s theme was “Survivor,” and we explored the values of connection, leadership, and thriving. We participated in a variety of workshops, including body image, finance, etiquette, public speaking, and more. The good weather allowed us to spend quality time at the beach and observe the elephant seals. We were thrilled to be joined by 10 participants and mentors from our Chicago and Canada exchange programs. We would like to extend a special thank you to our amazing volunteers, including Chief, Buggy, Blondie, Stretch, Dr. Ruth, Tex, Buc, Shakespeare, Knuckles, Bubbles, Hydra, Pookie, Dash, Butterbean, and Kamikaze, for helping make the weekend a success. It was an incredible experience to be able to provide the tools that will continue to support our young adults as they grow and thrive. Thank you to everyone who joined and made it happen.