To my friends and family, the refrain “if you want to talk to me about heroes, start with firefighters” (or something very close to that) is familiar. I just think there is something emblematic of heroism in the acts of people who willing throw themselves into harms way on a daily basis; all the while having no significant defenses against the danger they face and selflessly doing all of this to help (or save) others.
It’s with this in mind that I am particularly excited to introduce our selected charity for California, the Firefighters Burn Institute. Their mission statement:
The Firefighters Burn Institute is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization founded by Sacramento Fire Captain Cliff Haskell and the Sacramento Area Fire Fighters Local 522 in 1973, for the purpose of establishing a local burn treatment facility; providing recovery programs for burn survivors; providing fire and burn prevention through public education; funding education for burn team professionals, firefighters, and burn survivors; and supporting burn treatment and rehabilitation research.
In 1973, a jet airplane crashed into an ice cream parlor in Sacramento, killing 22 people. At the time there was no burn unit for the care of victims in the area and so Captain Cliff Haskell and Sacramento Area Firefighters, Local 522 founded the Institute.
With a Kids camp for burn victims ages six through seventeen, as well as a “Little Heroes” preschool program for child victims ages three through six the FFBI helps children re-assimilate into society as well as adults. For adults there is a Burn Community Recovery Cruise (among other things), which often offers a path for victims to “venture out of their safety zone” and provides “a wonderful opportunity for growth while meeting others who have gone through similar experiences to build a network of support.”
Many of the people taking part in FFBI activities are firefighters, however, the organization provides services for the entire community as well. These are heroes, doing work for heroes and other victims as well. It’s just such a great organization.
You can find out more at their web site, here.