Sprinkler Age A Publication of the American Fire Sprinkler Association
AFSA Virginia Chapter Supports Central Virginia Burn Camp
It is summer and it is time for the kids to have some fun. The Central Virginia Burn Camp just had their 22nd year of camp. Camp was the week of June 14-20 with the theme “Cruising Around the World.” The Virginia Chapter of the American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA) is proud to have sponsored the camp since its inception.
The 2015 Burn Camp had 33 campers and 24 counselors. There were three counselors in training (CITs) – campers who aged out as campers but are not yet old enough to be full counselors so they train for two years in order to become counselors and camp leaders. In addition, there were eight staff people in assistance all week.
It is important to note that of the 27 counselors/CITs, 10 were former campers who have continued to participate in the Burn Camp and are now counselors. This will tell you a whole lot about what this camp means to the campers.
The camp is fortunate to have the support of the following fire departments that provided all the camp meals in 2015: The Charlottesville Fire Department, Chesapeake Fire Department, Henrico Fire Department, Fairfax Fire Department, Virginia Beach Fire Department, Suffolk Fire Department, Norfolk Fire Department, Albemarle County Fire Department, and Chesterfield Fire Department all came to assist on their assigned days. The York County Fire Department hosted dinner at their training center after our trip to Busch Gardens.
The campers had many fun-filled activities including a day trip to Busch Gardens, a half-day team building/challenge program, African dance and drumming, craft projects, sports, fishing, canoeing, horseback riding, an outdoor movie, karaoke, piñata making, yoga, archery and hiking. The campers had a “World Cup” soccer game, camp fires, and camp dance complete with a photo booth. They “visited” countries and had guests from around the world share information about Germany, Sweden, England (with an English tea party), Greece and Italy (including a fresh pasta making demonstration). They had a Ninja Warrior camp, Olympics challenge and carnival.
The end-of-the-week program was a variety show was highlighted with lots of costumes and props, provided by a friend who teaches drama at a local school. It was a fun, busy week.
The AFSA Virginia Chapter has been supporting the Central Virginia Burn Camp from its start and donated a total of $40,000 from its 2014 Burn Survivors Golf Tournament to go toward 2015 camp costs. The AFSA Virginia Chapter has donated in the last 22 years a total of $325,000 to the Central Virginia Burn Camp.
All of the AFSA Virginia Chapter members, vendors and supporters should be very proud of this burn camp and its accomplishments.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: George Wagner is executive director of the AFSA Virginia Chapter. He can be reached via email at wagnerg@mindspring.com. Learn more about the Central Virginia Burn Camp at vaburncamp.org and the Virginia Chapter at afsavirginia.com.
