July 2019 Burn Bulletin
Champ Camp Ohana!
We were excited to welcome 156 burn injured children, including 13 Counselors in Training (CITs), from all over California and beyond to participate in this year’s Champ Camp, which provides a free, safe and fun summer camp environment for children ages 5 to 17 facing one of life’s toughest and most painful challenges: severe burn injuries. More than 2,300 children have been through the program since its inception in 1985, with no cost to them thanks to our generous supporters throughout California.
We sincerely thank all of the Counselors who volunteer nine days of their time to participate in Champ Camp. A huge thank you to the more than 100 volunteers and supporters who helped to make Champ Camp a great success! This year’s theme was Ohana and ohana means family. Family means no one gets left behind or forgotten and for us, all the campers, counselors and volunteers at Champ Camp certainly are family!
The People That Make Champ Camp Possible
We are so thankful to all of the donors that come together to make Champ Camp possible year after year. From the Pancake Breakfasts, to the Golf Tournaments and each of the fundraisers that happen all year long. As the children arrived, they were greeted with warm hugs and an awesome care package; all items donated by Livermore-Pleasanton Firefighters Foundation, San Francisco Fire Local 798, Oakland Firefighters Random Acts, Good News Bears, 23 and Me, Avita Medical, SunBum and many more! All of our programs and services are only made possible thanks to the generous support received throughout the year. We would also like to recognize the Counselors who supported Champ Camp through their participation in the Bows for Dough and Grow Your ‘Stache fundraisers.
Champ Camp hosts an Annual Chili Cook-Off Day where different fire departments and public service agencies are invited to come cook chili for the opportunity to win the coveted Champ Camp Chili Pot. A huge thank you to this year’s participating agencies; Community Regional Medical Center Burn Unit, Fresno Fire Department and the Fresno Fire Chief’s Foundation, Clovis Fire Department, Visalia Fire Department, Hanford Fire Department, Hanford Fire Department, Merced Fire Department, Bakersfield Firefighters Burn Foundation, Kings County Fire Department, CAL FIRE Fresno-Kings and Five Cities Fire Authority. We are grateful to the Bakersfield Firefighters Burn Foundation for not only 
providing campers with tasty chili, but for also donating $12,000 to ensure that burn injured children from Bakersfield are able to participate in Champ Camp, each and every year! Congratulations to the Fresno Fire Department and the Fresno Fire Chief’s Foundation for being awarded the best booth decoration award and to Community Regional Medical Center for receiving the award for best tasting chili!
We also have a special visit from the motorcycle group, Wind and Fire every year at Camp! This year, Wind and Fire motorcyclists traveled from 
throughout California, Oregon and Arizona to visit us, as they have been doing for more than 20 years. The members of Wind and Fire, many of whom are retired firefighters, came together again this year to make an amazing donation of more than $18,000 to support AARBF and Champ Camp!
In addition to all of the fun and excitement at Wonder Valley Ranch, campers take a trip to Wild Water Adventure Park in Clovis, CA and enjoy a day of waterslides, pools and various water activities. We would like to thank Wild Water Adventure Park 
for their continued partnership and Kona Ice for providing everyone a refreshing afternoon snack! We would also like to recognize Reedley Firemen’s Association and the Community Regional Medical Center Leon S. Peter’s Burn Center for their help with preparing and serving lunch and dinner.
Because of the “pleasantly warm” weather in the Central Valley during June, “Jamba Juice Friday” has become a big hit with campers and counselors thanks to Car Crazy Promotions and Carl Asaro who purchases all of the campers, counselors and program staff Jamba Juice! It has become a tradition and something everyone looks forward to, especially when it is so pleasantly warm out.
We would also like to thank the San Joaquin Valley Fine Wood Workers Association and the Home Depot of Selma that were at Camp for two days helping all of the kids build various wood projects! Additionally, the Buckaroo Unit had a wonderful time with Reptile Ron where they were able to learn about and hold different reptiles.
We are so grateful for our partnership with Angel Flight, which flies campers who live more than 90 miles from pick-up and drop-off locations to and from camp in privately owned small aircrafts. Thanks to Angel Flight many burn-injured children are able to experience the magic of Champ Camp, despite where they are located.
Champ Camp would not be possible without the wonderful support of Wonder Valley Ranch! We are very grateful to have such a beautiful location to host camp and look forward to continuing our partnership for many years to come. Thank you to Wonder Valley Ranch and all of the staff who go above and beyond to support Champ Camp!
There are so many wonderful donors, supporters and volunteers who make Champ Camp a reality for more than 150 burn injured children annually. Thank you to everyone who supports Champ Camp- we could not do it without you!
Bikes for Safe Kids
On June 1, 2019 we had the opportunity to attend and assist with the Safe Kids Santa Clara/San Mateo Bike Giveaway event for foster youth. It was so fun to see the kids smiling while riding their new bikes, checking out the various safety vehicles, blending ice smoothies, and hanging out with all the mascots. The kids and their foster parents seemed to have a great time and we successfully distributed 50 bikes to good homes. It’s awesome to see all of our partners come together to keep kids safe in our community – thank you for all you do.
Flippin' Pancakes in Central County
On June 8, 2019 the Central County Firefighters hosted their annual Pancake Breakfast at the Burlingame Fire Station #34. Hundreds of community members came out for a delicious breakfast, fun activities and fire and burn prevention tips! We are so grateful to the Central County Fire Department’s continued support and dedication to AARBF and Champ Camp.
Sparks Game
On June 15, 2019, nine burn survivors and 36 of their family members attended a Los Angeles Sparks game at the Staples Center. We all had a wonderful time rooting the Sparks on to victory! A huge thank you to The Los Angeles Sparks Community Partner Program for making these amazing day trips, and fun at their games, possible.
Bows for Dough and Grow Your ``Stache Finale!
The Bows for Dough and Grow Your ‘Stache fundraising competitions are officially done for the year and what an amazing year is has been! Bows for Dough raised a phenomenal $21,292 and Grow Your ‘Stache was able to raise $3,837! Between the two campaigns, AARBF was able to raise a whopping $25,129!!!
After a heated competition, that went all the way until midnight the last night, the winning team of Bows for Dough is… drum roll please… Community Regional Medical Center Leon S. Peters Burn Center with $6,329 raised! It was a real close one and we love the competitive spirit that really drove these dedicated bow-wearers to raise the most money.
The Berkeley Firefighter’s team, the Berkeley Upper-Lippers, stayed strong in their lead with $1,425 raised and we applaud their efforts, it is not easy having an awesome ‘stache in 100 degree heat.
We want to thank all of the teams that participated this year including.
Bows for Dough Teams
Leon S. Peters Burn Center
The Saints
Santa Clara Valley Medical Center Burn Center
McKenzie Dern – Bows for Dough
Mustache For BOWnations
Roxette’s Bows for Dough
AARBF Board of Directors
New Counselors Rock the Bows!
Snoopybows
Grow Your ‘Stache Teams
Berkeley Upper-Lippers
AARBF Board of Directors
GoatChop
New Counselors Grow Big, or Go Home!
Coop Cowboys
Padres going bald for a cause
Saratoga ‘Stache-4-Cash
Another big thank you to all the teams that participated this year and helped us raise money to further 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.
Check out the scoreboards and final rankings at www.bowsfordough.org and/or www.growyourstache.org!
North Bay Firefighters Burn Relay
On June 17, 2019 we held our 22nd Annual North Bay Firefighter’s Burn Relay. This year, for the first time, we split our relay into two routes; a southern route running through Marin County and a northern route running through Sonoma County. Although our relay was a little light in participation this year, it certainly wasn’t light in the dedication that these fire departments showed to AARBF and Champ Camp!
We’d like to thank all the fire departments and organizations that joined us on our Southern and Northern Routes: Southern Marin Professional Firefighters Association and the Southern Marin Fire Department Board of Directors, Mill Valley Association of Volunteer Firefighters and the Mill Valley Firefighters Association, Saints and Sinners Foundation, Central Marin Firefighters Association, Kentfield Professional Fire Fighters Association, Tiburon Fire Protection District Volunteer Firefighters Association, Ross Valley Firefighters and Ross Valley Firefighters Club, San Rafael Firefighters, Marinwood Firefighter’s Association, Novato Fire Foundation, Geyserville Volunteer Firefighters, Healdsburg Reserve Firefighters Association, Windsor Fire Foundation, Rincon Valley Firefighters’ Association, Santa Rosa Firefighters Local 1401, Sebastopol Firefighters Foundation, Graton Fire Department Firefighters Association, Gold Ridge Firefighters Association, Hessel Volunteer Firefighters Association, Rohnert Park Peace Officers Association, Rancho Adobe Firefighters Association and Petaluma Firefighters Local 1415.
Both routes were able to meet at the Petaluma stop and head over to Beyond The Glory Sports Bar & Grill for a delicious lunch provided by the Marin County Fire Chiefs Association, Fire Prevention Officers section. Our grand total for this year’s North Bay Firefighter’s Burn Relay came to an amazing $41,830 and we couldn’t be more grateful… that’s our best year yet!
A special thank you to the CHP – Santa Rosa and all the officers that joined us to ensure we had a safe and smooth ride throughout the North Bay area. We would also like to thank Southern Marin Firefighter, Travis Fox, and Sonoma County Fire Captain, Keith “Padres” Muelheim for coordinating this relay and making this all possible. This was an absolutely spectacular day and we are so grateful to all the North Bay Fire Departments and Organizations that made this possible!
A’s Firefighter Appreciation Day
On June 23, 2019 the Oakland A’s hosted their annual Firefighter Appreciation Day. Not only did the A’s offer AARBF a fundraising opportunity through ticket sales, they also donated an amazing 110 tickets for burn survivors and their families to attend. A total of 54 burn survivors and their family members joined us, along with about a dozen volunteers and Champ Camp counselors. The Oakland Firefighters Local 55 members came out and barbequed for all our survivors and their families, brought their beautiful parade fire truck and supplied some awesome tunes for some pre-game tailgating fun! We are so grateful to both the Oakland A’s and the Oakland Firefighters for making this a truly magical day at the ball park!
July 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.
Please contact Stephanie “Pocahontas” Boydell at [email protected] or 415-495-7223 x17 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!
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:
• August 4: (1:30pm – 3:30pm), SoCal Survivors Support Group, contact Margarita “Cubby” Rodriguez at [email protected] or 818-848-0223 Ext. 16 with any questions.
• August 4: (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.
• August 6: (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.
• August 7: (6:30pm – 8:00pm), East Bay Burn Support Group, contact Scott “Scooter” Wertz at [email protected] or 415-495-7223 x19 with any questions.
• August 8: (6:00pm – 7:30pm), Modesto Support Group, contact Erika “Kika” Corona-Mendoza at [email protected] or 559-621-4016 with any questions.
• August 10: Annual Car Crazy Promotions Car Show, Stephanie “Pocahontas” Boydell at [email protected] or 415-495-7223 Ext. 17 with any questions.
• August 13: (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.
• August 14: (6:30pm – 8:00pm), Santa Rosa Support Group, contact Scott “Scooter” Wertz at [email protected] or 415-495-7223 x19 with any questions.
• August 15: (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.
• August 17: Hell-of-a-Half Marathon in Exeter, contact Stephanie “Pocahontas” Boydell at [email protected] or 415-495-7223 Ext. 17 with any questions.
• August 29: (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.
If you missed any of our past Burn Bulletins, please check out our archives.
Just a reminder to go to www.aarbf.org; click on Upcoming Events, for the latest AARBF events and activities that need your support.