On November 7, 2019, the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation hosted it’s Annual East Bay Firefighters Burn Relay. We traveled throughout the East Bay visiting Albany, Berkeley, Oakland, Alameda City, Sprinkler Fitters Local 483, Hayward, Alameda County and Livermore Pleasanton fire departments to raise a total of $28,565.78 for AARBF!!! Thank you to our wonderful East Bay firefighters for your generous support, and thank you to Fire Trucks 4 Hire and Wicktonville Fire Dept, Inc. for safely transporting AARBF staff throughout the East Bay.

On Monday, November 18, 2019, the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation partnered with Habitot Children’s Museum to bring the co-authors of “Children & Recovery from Wildfires” guide to the Habitot Children’s Museum in order to provide support to families affected (in any way) by wildfires. AARBF was able to provide free admission to more than 70 children and families to attend the event.

Sadie and Hania co-authored the “Children & Recovery from Wildfires” guide in order to help children and families respond to the psychological impact of wildfires. Sadie Wilcox, more commonly known as “Phoenix” to our Champ Camp campers and counselors, is an Artist-in-Residence in the Child Life Services department at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland. A burn survivor herself, Sadie has served on the Board of Directors at the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation. Hania Thomas-Adams is a Certified Child Life Specialist at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland and works at Hospice by the Bay, a pediatric palliative care program in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Sadie and Hania were available to meet with families and children who were impacted by the California wildfires, at the Habitot Children’s Museum event, sponsored by AARBF. They provided copies of their “Children & Recovery from Wildfires” guide, as well as utilized puppets to connect with the young children at the museum.

“I just felt so compelled to write this guide,” said Sadie. “When the wildfires hit California, it was just such a big event and I knew there were children and families that were greatly impacted and experiencing trauma from them. This guide helps children and families navigate through their trauma and provides tips for parents on how to support their children experiencing trauma.”

We are so grateful to Sadie and Hania for going above and beyond their line of work to support children and families throughout California, impacted by the wildfires. We are also grateful to Habitot Children’s Museum for partnering with AARBF, in order to provide support to children and families affected by the wildfires. Download a copy of the “Children & Recovery from Wildfires” guide at: https://aarbf.org/resources/wildfires

On November 24, 2019, Triple Rock Brewing hosted its Annual Firkin Fest fundraiser to benefit the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation in Berkeley, CA. Attendees were able to sample unlimited pours from more than a dozen Bay Area breweries, including Ghost Town Brewing, Canyon Club Brewery,  Hoi Polloi, Daction Brewing, Drake’s Brewing Co., Novel Brewing Co., Danville Brewing Co., 21^st Amendment Brewery, High Water Brewing Co., Shadow Puppet Brewing, Bear Republic Brewing Co. and more! We are grateful to Triple Rock Brewing for continuing to support AARBF through this event, year after year! Cheers!

The Culver City Firefighters Association (CCFFA) will hosted its second annual Culver City Firefighters Association Golf Tournament on November 18, 2019 at the Mountain Gate Country Club. More than one hundred golfers attended the tournament which helps raise money for charities and foundations. A portion of the money raised at this year’s tournament will go to the Eric Stevens Foundation to help Stevens, a Los Angeles City firefighter who was recently diagnosed with ALS. AARBF was at this year’s event, stationed at one of the holes on the course, to provide information about the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation. We are thankful to the golfers who made donations on the course to AARBF!

Each year Santa Fe Springs Firefighters hosts a charity golf tournament to benefit the Autism Society of Los Angeles and a number of other charities. The tournament was held at the beautiful Candlewood Country Club. On November 11, 2019, AARBF attended the Golf Tournament to host a booth and provide information to golfers about AARBF. There were 108 golfers in attendance at the tournament it was a great day for everyone of golf, a great Italian dinner, prizes, raffles, and giveaways.

On November 13, 2019, AARBF Operations Manager, Jan Share, spoke at the Kiwanis Club of Hermosa Beach meeting on behalf of the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation. AARBF was invited to speak at the meeting by a former burn nurse from Torrance Memorial Hospital’s Burn Unit. In addition to educating the Club members about the good work of AARBF, the Kiwanis Club of Hermosa Beach presented AARBF with a donation of $500.00!

On November 15, 2019, AARBF’s Northern California Regional Manager, Scott Wertz, was able to attend the Northern California Public Education Committee’s check ceremony at the Northern their monthly meeting. The group made a generous donation of $5,500.00 from their Annual Golf Tournament this year!

The Northern California Public Education Committee aims to educate the public on preventing fires and injuries before they occur. Public Education personnel often serve as a vital link between the fire department and the community. Committee members meet monthly to exchange information on local, state and national fire and life safety outreach programs. Current committee projects include organizing public education training classes for NorCal members, and disseminating state fire training curriculum on public education.

The funds received came from the Northern California Fire Prevention Officers Association’s Annual Charity Golf Tournament at the Hiddenbrooke Golf Club in Vallejo held on September 6, 2019. This was the first year they held the tournament at this course and all of the participants really enjoyed the new location! More than 100 golfers came out to support the event this year. AARBF also recognized the Nor Cal FPO’s with a beautiful plaque for their continued support over the entire 10 years this golf tournament has been running. We are so grateful that each year the Nor Cal Fire Prevention Officers support AARBF and Champ Camp with this wonderful event!

On November 20, 2019, the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation attended the annual Fresno Training Symposium, where we were able to distribute Challenge Coins on behalf of Fire Captain Pete Dern. The Challenge Coins were graciously donated by Fire Captain Pete Dern in hopes of helping AARBF raise funds for Champ Camp. During the event we were able to receive donations for the coins of more than $1800! Additionally, we would like to give a huge thank you to Brian Price, Javier Lara and the rest of the team for donating $1500 to AARBF from this event. We are grateful for all of those in the fire service that participated and contributed to these donations from the 2019 Fresno Training Symposium!

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.
  • Two holiday parties are held in the Northern California Region; East Bay Holiday Party (Berkeley) and the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center Holiday Party (San Jose). Volunteers are needed for set up, clean up, serving food, etc.
• Please contact Jennifer “Jem” Radics-Johnson at [email protected] 415-495-7223 ext. 12 if you have interest in any of the following:
  • Do you enjoy data management, input and/or making calls to our amazing volunteers and community partners? We are in need of a volunteer to assist us in staying up to date with contact information for volunteers, donors, and community partners (such as fire departments).

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 are always looking for volunteers to help spread burn prevention education in their local community at outreach events.
  • The Central Valley Holiday Party is in need of volunteers to help set-up, clean-up, decorate and more!

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 are always looking for volunteers to help spread burn prevention education in their local community at outreach events!
  • The Southern California Holiday Party is in need of volunteers to help set-up, clean-up, decorate and more!
• Please contact Jan “Tabby” Share at [email protected] or 818-848-0223  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.

Upcoming Events:

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

• January 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.

• January 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.

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

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

• January 14: (6:00pm-7:30pm), Fresno Community Regional Medical Center Support Group, contact Erika “Kika” Corona-Mendoza at [email protected] or 559-621-4016 with any questions.

• January 16: (7:00pm – 8:30pm), Online Video Burn Survivor Support Group, contact Daniel “Apollo” Chacon at 415-495-7223 x 18 or [email protected] with any questions or to RSVP.

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