• Latest News Articles
• Newsletter
• Burn Foundation News

BURN FOUNDATION SPONSORS FREE CHILDREN'S SUMMER CAMP AND ADULT SUPPORT GROUP Seeking Children and Adult Burn Survivors

PHILADELPHIA - April 20, 2006 - As many families are making plans for their children's summer camp experiences, The Burn Foundation is seeking young burn survivors to attend a very special camp. Each year, The Burn Foundation, a Philadelphia-based non-profit organization serving the tri-state area medical burn care community, as well as burn survivors and their families in much of Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey and Delaware, provides scholarship funding for at least 25 children to attend burn camp free of charge.

The burn camp program is a partnership between The Burn Foundation and the Mid-Atlantic Burn Camp (MABC). Young burn survivors ages 6 to 18 are eligible to apply for the free camp scholarships, valued at a minimum of $750 per child.

The Burn Foundation's involvement extends far beyond financial support. In addition to providing scholarships, the Foundation works closely with area burn centers to identify potential campers, arranges campers' transportation to the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia and sends chaperons on the trip. Throughout the year, the Foundation schedules activities for past and potential campers including a summer picnic for current burn patients and their families.

At the Mid-Atlantic Burn Camp, young burn survivors are given the opportunity to interact with other children dealing with similar injuries, as well as a dedicated staff of burn treatment professionals. Additionally, the camp builds children's self-esteem and social skills by promoting healthy recovery from burn injury and encouraging activities such as land and water sports, arts and crafts, games and skits.

Co-directors Linda C. French and E. Tonas Kalil founded the all-volunteer camp in 1992 after working as physical therapists at a burn treatment center. Each summer, the organization has grown to include campers from Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. If you'd like your child, or a child you know, to apply for a camp scholarship, call The Burn Foundation at 215-988-9882.

The Burn Foundation is also reaching out to adult burn survivors for participation in a regional support group network designed to give survivors a place to share their stories, stresses, worries and celebrations. For more information, call The Burn Foundation at 215-988-9882.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Children eligible for this program should be from the entire State of Delaware, Southern New Jersey (including Mercer, Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Salem, Atlantic, Cumberland and Cape May counties) and Southeastern Pennsylvania (including the Delaware, Susquehanna and Lehigh Valleys).

Established in 1973, The Burn Foundation is a Philadelphia-based non-profit organization, serving the Greater Delaware Valley medical burn care community, as well as burn survivors and their families. During the past five years alone, The Burn Foundation has provided more than $1.8 million in financial support to four regional burn medical centers-Crozer-Chester Medical Center's Nathan Speare Regional Burn Treatment Center, Lehigh Valley Hospital's Regional Burn Center and Burn Recovery Center, St. Christopher's Hospital for Children's Stuart J. Hulnick Burn Center and Temple University Hospital's Temple Burn Center-all of which treat patients from more than 160 referring hospital emergency rooms in Southeastern Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey and the State of Delaware.