We have extended our annual Champy-on fundraiser to run through the end of our camp week on June 17th. We are excited to have met our goal of $38,000 for 38 years of Champ Camp and have now revised our goal to 50 kids!

Simply visit www.champyon.org and click on the blue donation button. Thank you for helping us send 50 kids to camp!

On Saturday, May 6th, Scott “Poindexter” Mellon with the Hanford Fire Department was joined by students from the Fresno City College (FCC) Fire Academy and firefighters from nine other agencies to participate in the annual Fresno Urban Run. Collectively they raised over $9,300 for AARBF and Champ Camp!

We are grateful to the team members, their supporters, event volunteers, and everyone from the Fresno Urban Run organization for another great event. We also have a special thank you to Poindexter for his continued support of AARBF through this annual event as well as being an awesome volunteer!

On May 10th, Katrina Arthur joined the AARBF team as the new Operations Administrator. Katrina comes to the AARBF team with a rich and varied history. She began her journey at Fresno State, moving to the Central Valley from Southern California in 2002. As an undergraduate, she studied Kinesiology and went on to become a Certified Athletic Trainer working with high school student-athletes in Fresno and Clovis. While working, she completed her Master’s of Public Health with an emphasis in Health Promotion from Fresno State.

Through her educational journey, she found joy in helping her community through various activity-based organizations. Using her love of organization, managing volunteers, and implementing resources Katrina helped provide physical activity opportunities to the youth of Fresno, Clovis, and the surrounding Foothill Communities.

Professionally, Katrina has worked within the medical community as a care provider as well as a patient information manager. Outside of the patient care system, she has worked as an Operation Manager for a landscape design company using her attention to detail, client-centered views, and strong organizational skills to establish successful project management systems.

She lives on a farm in the Foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, just outside of Fresno. She is married and together, they are raising 3 teens as well as a myriad of sheep, chickens, cats, and dogs. As an active member of her small mountain community, Katrina volunteers her time to support the local soccer and swim leagues. You are as likely to find her coaching on the field as cheering from the pool deck.

Katrina was first introduced to the work of AARBF through her husband, who works as a firefighter. She and her family have supported many local events put on by the foundation and their community partners. As a member of the AARBF team, Katrina is ready to share her knowledge and experience in project and client management to support the staff and ultimately the Survivors we serve.

Katrina can be reached at [email protected].

On May 13th, we held a New Counselor Training session for Champ Camp 2023. We spent our time learning about all things camp, playing team-building games, and of course perfecting our campfire songs. Each of these individuals brought great energy to the weekend. We are so excited for our new additions to our Champ Camp family.

AARBF’s Daniel Chacon attended the American Burn Association’s (ABA) annual conference in Dallas, TX, held May 15th-19th. While at the conference, Daniel supported the International Association of Burn Camp’s exhibitor booth and attended sessions focused on aftercare and burn prevention. We were also excited to watch as Dr. Ruth Rimmer presented her research from last year’s Champ Camp. In addition, Daniel met up with representatives from burn centers and burn foundations from across the United States and talked about areas of improvement and collaboration. Thank you, Daniel, for representing AARBF.

It was a Saturday to remember when first responders, community partners, and AARBF gathered at the Westside Community Center in Culver City to share a day of connection and finding comfort. “Sirens of Silence: A Special Day with First Responders” is a day for the autism and special needs community to find out more about safety and know the kindness and care and commitment of those in the helping professions. This sensory-friendly event was the perfect opportunity to share our “N.I.C.K. for Fire and Burn Safety” program with families and friends, as well as all our other burn prevention resources and messages. Lots of caregivers and loved ones were inspired to engage with our picture learning program to reinforce “Stop, Drop and Roll” “Cool a Burn for 5 Minutes” and “Get Low and Go.”

On May 23rd, firefighters from local departments were recently honored for exemplary community service by King David’s Masonic Lodge, No. 209 F &AM in San Luis Obispo California. These individuals, by their zeal and endeavor, have been of significant and outstanding service to their communities.

Honorees included Engineer–Paramedic Kevin Hames, Morro Bay Fire Department; Battalion Chief Chad Flemming, CAL FIRE; Paid Call Firefighter Mark Cameron, San Luis Obispo County Fire, and Engineer Patrick Larsen, San Luis Obispo City Fire Department.

In addition, AARBF volunteer Steven “Knuckles” Knuckles graciously accepted a donation of $2,500 for AARBF in honor of the firefighters. Thank you to the members of the King David’s Masonic Lodge for supporting AARBF and our wonderful firefighters!

Are you interested in attending the 2023 Phoenix World Burn Congress 2023 (WBC)? AARBF offers a Phoenix World Burn Congress Scholarship which provides financial assistance to cover costs for registration to participate in the WBC.

This year’s event will be on October 4-7 at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. To learn more about this event and to register, please visit: https://phoenix-society.org/phoenix-wbc

To learn more about the financial assistance available for WBC and to apply, please visit: https://forms.gle/bW8Cb4ewsBxwBc9w6

Applications are due by June 30th for 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.

For those traveling even farther down the academic road, toward a Master’s degree or PhD, be sure to apply for the “Aiming Higher” scholarship to help support your academic pursuits. The same link and application (Bridge to Life) are used for Aiming Higher, and you can possibly be eligible and awarded BOTH scholarships.

Fill out or complete your application today: https://forms.gle/HCaBGdzJeqz3qvxu8

July 6: (7:00pm – 8:30pm), Caregiver Online Support Group, contact us at [email protected] to register and receive further information.

July 9: (1:30pm – 3:30pm), SoCal Survivors Support Group, contact us at [email protected] to register and receive further information.

TBD: (7:00pm – 8:30pm), Santa Clara Valley Medical Support Group, contact us at [email protected] to register and receive further information.

July 5: (6:30pm – 8:00pm), North Bay Support Group, contact us at [email protected] to register and receive further information.

July 13: (7:00pm – 8:30pm), Burn Care Professionals Online Support Group, contact us at [email protected] to register and receive further information.

July 11: (6:30pm – 8:00pm), Fresno Community Regional Medical Center Support Group, contact us at [email protected] to register and receive further information.

July 12: (6:30pm – 8:00pm), East Bay Burn Support Group, contact us at [email protected] to register and receive further information.

July 20: (7:00pm – 8:30pm), Statewide Online Support Group, contact us at [email protected] to register and receive further information.

July 18: (6:00pm – 7:30pm), Spanish-Speaking Online Burn Survivor Support Group, contact us at [email protected] to register and receive further information.

July 27: (11:30am – 1:00pm), Saint Francis Support Group, contact us at [email protected] to register and receive further information.

July 30: Alameda Pancake Breakfast

August 5: Hell of a Half Marathon

September 23: AARBF’s Dinner & Dance