AARBF Launches Its Largest Prevention Campaign

The Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation (AARBF) is rolling out its largest-ever public safety campaign in three California counties. The scald prevention campaign will reach millions with large-scale outreach on public transit advertising space and through individual education with free prevention kits for child caregivers.

“I’m so excited to see the ads up,” said Johanna Wilkie, AARBF Prevention Manager. “Everyone at AARBF has been working hard to make this public safety campaign as far-reaching and effective as possible.”

Generously funded by a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant, the campaign will run in Los Angeles and San Francisco for the month of April.

In Los Angeles and San Francisco, prevention signs will be on the back and inside of buses, and in the Bay Area, in BART trains. Los Angeles will also sport larger ads on bus shelters.

“This is a brand-new program geared toward preventing scald injuries in the home, which is the No. 1 burn injury to children under age 5,” said board member Patricia Mieszala, R.N. and AARBF Prevention Specialist. “The graphic we used of a flaming coffee cup really gets across the point that scald injuries burn like fire.”

The campaign also reaches individuals at the community level. Local AARBF representatives have reached out to organizations in the target communities of Long Beach, Oakland, and the Tenderloin district of San Francisco, who in turn display prevention posters and distribute free kits.

AARBF made 5,000 “Protect Your Child” scald prevention kits, available in English and Spanish for two age groups: infant and toddler. Infant kits contain an informational brochure on how to protect your child from hot liquid burns as well as a whiteboard with safety information for babysitters and other family members. Toddler kits include a different brochure with information for older, more active children, as well as a magnet with first-aid information and a jar opener that reminds parents about the danger of hot liquids.

The kits are free to any parent or caregiver in California, and can be ordered online at www.beburnsafe.com, by calling 1-800-242-BURN, or by calling your local office.

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