On March 2, 2019 AARBF hosted a fun outing for youth burn survivors at Pasadena Ice Skating Center. Nine burn survivors and two volunteers, Jasmin Paneda & Jeanette Treviño, spent the day ice skating, eating delicious food, and bonding with fellow survivors from the burn community. It was a wonderful afternoon and we are very grateful to the volunteers and everyone who came out to spend their Saturday having fun with the kids on the ice!

On March 9, 2019 the Torrance Firefighters Association hosted their 48th Annual Torrance Firefighters Spaghetti Dinner and Bake Sale. This event was another huge success and they were able to feed almost 900 community members and raise a total of $8,000 that will be donated to AARBF and Champ Camp. Along with the dinner, the Torrance Firefighters Women’s Association had their annual bake sale which was able to raise $1,581. There was lots of food and lots of homemade goodie to enjoy after dinner.
Past Torrance Firefighter, Dennis Hansen, was burned over 25% of his body in a fire that sparked the relationship between AARBF and the Torrance Firefighters. After the fire, they teamed up with AARBF to start the 1st Spaghetti Dinner in 1971, the same year AARBF was created! We were so happy that he came out and supported the event that he helped create 48 years ago!

On March 4, 2019, Cindy Rutter and our Senior Regional Manager, Margarita “Cubby” Rodriguez, traveled to Harmony Elementary in Los Angeles to conduct a School Reentry presentation for Julian R., a young burn survivor from Southern, CA. 570 Students, 20 Teachers, and the principal all attended the presentation designed to help ease a burn survivor’s transition from the hospital back to school and everyday life.
Going back to school and being with peers is a very important step in a young burn survivor’s recovery. It can be one of the most stressful transitions in the aftermath of a burn injury or traumatic loss. Everyday interaction with classmates, participation in extracurricular activities, and plans for their future may also pose new challenges… and a young survivor may be unsure of how to ask questions or where to turn for help.
“Thank you once again to you, the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation, and Mrs. Cindy Rutter for the presentations this past Monday. I know that providing this valuable informing to the children, staff, and administration at Harmony Elementary school will make a tremendous difference for my Julian. Thank you! Today is his first day and it started off well.” – Elizabeth Flores, Julian’s mother

Over the weekend of March 8–10, 2019, AARBF hosted our Annual Northern CA Ski Trip to Bear Valley Ski Resort. 30 Burn Survivors, ages 7-17, along with 16 volunteers attended this year, one of our largest ski trips yet! For many of our survivors this wasn’t just their first time skiing or snowboarding, but their first time ever seeing snow. This trip was filled with activities such as skiing, snowboarding and snowmobiling all in a single day. We also had the opportunity to explore the town of Murphy’s with our incredible lead volunteer and local to the area, Santa Clara County Firefighters, Rob “Jack Rabbit” Hecocks.
This trip is made possible by the incredible generosity of so many along the way; from all of the amazing fire departments who cooked for our group and provided us with lodging to the CHP, Bear Valley Snowmobile and amazing group of locals who took every single one of our kids on an incredible snowmobile ride through the woods and finally the Bear Valley Resort who not only donated lift tickets and rentals, but ski lessons for all of our survivors and lunch for us on Saturday.
A special thank you to the Stockton Firefighters Local 456 members who not only provided a delicious dinner on Friday evening, but a lucky survivor got to go home with a new bike. A HUGE thank you to Ebbetts Pass Fire District for hosting us, as well as preparing multiple meals for our survivors and volunteers! Another big thank you to the Arnold Angels for preparing goodie bags for all the survivors and volunteers. Last but certainly not least, we’d also like to thank the members of Manteca Firefighters IAFF 1874 for providing lunch and a place to stop on our way home on Sunday.
THANK YOU all our amazing volunteers for coming out and making these trips possible. It was a weekend filled with smiles, laughter and learning that will be a memory these survivors will never forget!

On March 14, 2019 AARBF Executive Director, Jennifer Radics-Johnson, and AARBF Board President, Andrew Mersmann, attended an in-depth conference detailing the benefits and process of obtaining a Standards for Institute Excellence accreditation. The Standards offer a comprehensive set of best practices and a roadmap on how to implement them. It’s not a passive rating system, but an active way to strengthen a non-profit organization. A Standards for Excellence accreditation will set our organization apart as a top performer in our field. We look forward to obtaining this accreditation and continuing to strive for transparency and excellence in the way we serve our community.
Jennifer and Andrew work hard day in and day out to ensure our organization is the best that it can possibly be and what is all that work without just a little fun? We were able to gather a few volunteers from the San Jose area to celebrate Andrew traveling all the way from Southern California to attend this important conference. We enjoyed a lovely evening at Campo di Bocce of Los Gatos with good food, great fun playing bocce ball and even better company!

On March 19, 2019, the Masons of California, King David’s Lodge No. 209, members honored four local firefighters for the commitment they’ve shown to the San Luis Obispo County community. In honor of the hard work these public servants have displayed, the Masons of California generously donated $2,500 to assist AARBF with 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.
Not only were these firefighters honored with a delicious St. Patrick’s Day themed dinner, but they also received accolades from local elected politicians, as well as the Masons themselves. We appreciate the amazing work the Masons do for their communities and we were honored to attend this special event and speak about the local programs & services AARBF provides.

Over the month of March, AARBF was able to complete New Counselor Interviews for 2019 Champ Camp in all three of our regions. We had over 85 returning staff and volunteers this year, as well as an amazing 40 new applicants, 29 of which were able to go through the interview process. We were also able to conduct a few video interviews for those who live out of state and can’t make the in-person interviews. These interviews are incredibly important to our process of selecting new counselors so we can get to really know the amazing folks that will be spending an entire week with nearly 150 burn injured children.
We are excited to have many of these new counselors attend the next phase and join us for the New Counselor Training over Mother’s Day weekend, May 11-12, 2019.

March 13-15, 2019, our Assistant Director, Daniel Chacon, attended the Annual California Fire Prevention Institute (CFPI) Conference in Buellton, Ca. During the conference, Daniel attended the Co-Chair Committee meeting, the Annual Banquet, and the Public Education meeting. It was also wonderful to see the outgoing Board of Directors honored and the new board confirmed.

On March 21, 2019 we received a generous donation from San Francisco Fire Captain, Julie Mau, and the United Fire Service Women of 20 tickets to attend the Golden State Warriors game against the Indiana Pacers. This was a great night of basketball for the burn survivors and we had such a wonderful time cheering on the Warriors. These tickets were in such high demand that we were able to fill the spots within an hour! We are so grateful for the ticket donation and the opportunity for an exciting night of Warriors Basketball.

On March 29, 2019 the Livermore Pleasanton Firefighters Foundation hosted a fantastic fundraising event at Altamont Beer Works in Livermore, Ca. The event was held from noon to 9pm and all day the Livermore Pleasanton Firefighters were grilling up delicious Lakewood sausages and a free concert by local favorites, Crawdad Republic, took place at 6pm and nearly brought the house down! Development Manager, Stephanie “Pocahontas” Boydell and Northern California Regional Manager, Scott “Scooter” Wertz attended and helped wherever they were needed! All proceeds went to the Livermore Pleasanton Firefighters Foundation and we are so fortunate that each year they donate to AARBF as part of proceeds that are received from events like this.

2019 Volunteer Appreciation Week is fast approaching, April 7 – 13, and we would like YOU to join us from 6:30pm to 8:30pm on April 11th for an evening of recognition and awards for our amazing volunteers! Appetizers will be provided. All are welcome!
We will hold this event at our three regional locations:
• AARBF Pasadena Office (50 N. Hill Ave, STE 305)
• AARBF El Cerrito Office (705 El Cerrito Plaza)
• AARBF Fresno Office (Fresno FD Fire Museum, 911 H St.)
Contact AARBF Development Manager, Stephanie “Pocahontas” Boydell, at [email protected] or 415-495-7223 x17 to RSVP or for any questions.

May Hot List!

Volunteer Opportunities:

• Northern California Volunteer Opportunities

• •   Please contact Scott “Scooter” Wertz at [email protected] 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.
    • General office administrative tasks such as printing, filing, mailings, data entry, organization, etc.

• Central California Volunteer Opportunities

• • Please contact Erika “Kika” Corona-Mendoza at [email protected] or 559-621-4016 if you have interest in volunteering for the following:
    • We need volunteers for our upcoming Burn Survivor event, A Day at the Park, on 5/4/19 at Gettysburg Park in Clovis, CA. We need help with   set-up, clean up and could use a couple of volunteers to put together outdoor activities. We are in need of additional over-night chaperones for Champ Camp June 14-15, 2019 to pick up kids from Champ Camp and ride back on the bus with them.
    • We are always looking for volunteers to help spread burn prevention education in their local community at outreach events!

• Southern California Volunteer Opportunities

• •  Please contact Margarita “Cubby” Rodriguez at [email protected] or 818-848-0223 x16 if you have interest in any of the following:
    • We have an opportunity to assist as a volunteer in our Pasadena office with administrative duties such as filing.
    • We are always looking for volunteers to help spread burn prevention education in their local community at outreach events!

Upcoming Events:

• May 1: (6:30pm – 8:00pm), East Bay Burn Support Group, contact Scott “Scooter” Wertz at [email protected] or 415-495-7223 x19 with any questions.

• May 4: Day at the Park Burn Survivor Event(s), to RSVP or if you have questions, please contact Margarita “Cubby” Rodriguez at [email protected] or 818-848-0223 Ext. 16 for the Southern California Region, Scott “Scooter” Wertz at [email protected] or 415-495-7223 x19 for the Northern California Region or Erika “Kika” Corona-Mendoza at [email protected] or 559-621-4016.

• May 4: Arcadia Firefighter’s Pancake Breakfast, contact Jan “Tabby” Share at 818-848-0223 x1 or [email protected] with any questions.

• May 5: (1:30pm – 3:30pm), SoCal Survivors Support Group, contact Margarita “Cubby” Rodriguez at [email protected] or 818-848-0223 Ext. 16 with any questions.

• May 5: (4:00pm – 6:00pm), SoCal Grupo de Apoyo en Espanol, contact Margarita “Cubby” Rodriguez at [email protected] or 818-848-0223 Ext. 16 with any questions.

• May 5: Fresno Urban Run Fundraising Event, contact Stephanie “Pocahontas” Boydell at [email protected] or 415-495-7223 Ext. 17 with any questions.

• May 7: (7:00pm – 8:30pm), Santa Clara Valley Medical Support Group, contact Scott “Scooter” Wertz at [email protected] or 415-495-7223 x19 with any questions.

• May 8: (6:30pm – 8:00pm), Santa Rosa Support Group, contact Scott “Scooter” Wertz at [email protected] or 415-495-7223 x19 with any questions.

• May 9: (6:00pm – 7:30pm), Modesto Support Group, contact Erika “Kika” Corona-Mendoza at [email protected] or 559-621-4016 with any questions.

• May 11: Monrovia Firefighter’s Pancake Breakfast, contact Jan “Tabby” Share at 818-848-0223 x1 or [email protected] with any questions.

• May 13 – June 21: GROW YOUR ‘STACHE AND BOWS FOR DOUGH BEGINS!, contact Stephanie “Pocahontas” Boydell at [email protected] or 415-495-7223 Ext. 17 with any questions.

• May 14: (6:30pm – 7:30pm), Central California Burn Survivor Support Group, contact Erika “Kika” Corona-Mendoza at [email protected] or 559-621-4016 with any questions.

• May 18: Fire and Wind Motorcycle Club Pancake Breakfast – Fresno Chapter, contact Stephanie “Pocahontas” Boydell at [email protected] or 415-495-7223 Ext. 17 with any questions.

• May 18: Los Angeles Firefighters Burn Relay, contact Jan “Tabby” Share at 818-848-0223 x1 or [email protected] with any questions.

• May 18: San Marino Firefighter’s Pancake Breakfast, contact Jan “Tabby” Share at 818-848-0223 x1 or [email protected] with any questions.

• May 19: Fresno Grizzlies Baseball Game for Burn Survivors, contact Erika “Kika” Corona-Mendoza at [email protected] or 559-621-4016 with any questions.

• May 20: ACFFA Charity Golf Tournament in Livermore, contact Stephanie “Pocahontas” Boydell at [email protected] or 415-495-7223 Ext. 17 with any questions.

• May 22: North Bay Firefighters Burn Relay, contact Stephanie “Pocahontas” Boydell at [email protected] or 415-495-7223 Ext. 17 with any questions.

• May 30: (11:30am – 1:00pm), Saint Francis Hospital Burn Support Group, contact Scott “Scooter” Wertz at [email protected] or 415-495-7223 x19 with any questions.