23rd Annual Camp "I Am Me"

Mary Werderitch IFSA Executive Director Email: mwerder@ifsa.org Phone: (847) 390-0911 or (847) 528-3191 Address: P. O. Box 911 Mt. Prospect, IL 60056 For Immediate Release: June 12, 2013 Illinois Fire Safety Alliance Camp “I Am Me” The Illinois Fire Safety Alliance (IFSA) is set to hold its 23rd annual Camp “I Am Me” burn camp from June 16, 2013 through June 22, 2013, in Ingleside, IL. Appreciation Day will take place on Wednesday, June 19, 2013, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Guests are invited to observe the camp’s activities and have lunch with the campers. Camp “I Am Me” hosts around 85 campers each year. The camp is open to children between the ages of 8 and 16 who have been hospitalized for severe burns. Campers mostly consist of children from around the Chicago area. The camp aims to build self esteem in these burn victims by providing a non-judgmental environment where children can participate in camp activities with other children who have had similar experiences to them. "When kids ask me how I got burned, I tell them in the bathtub," said an 8 year-old camper. "Then the kids move away and it makes me feel sad." Some of the activities children participate in include: journaling, playing sports, horseback riding, crafting, fishing, pool parties, swimming lessons, a day long carnival and much more. “It is very important that Austin has a place he can go where no one focuses on his scars and instead sees his true self,” said Kathleen O’Donoghue, mother of camper Austin O’Donoghue. “He feels encouraged and empowered by his friendships with campers and staff and the day he comes home he is talking about ‘next year’.” The camp is put on by the Illinois Fire Safety Alliance, a non-profit organization dedicated to fire and burn prevention through public education. More than 300 children are hospitalized for burns in Illinois each year. The most common types of burns are related to scalds, chemicals, flame; with scalds being the leading cause of the burns. Through donations from IFSA sponsors, campers are able to come to camp at no cost to their families. It costs the IFSA around $2,500 per child for the week. Some of the sponsors include: Bucks For Burn Camp, Illinois Burn Prevention Association, Berwyn Firefighters Put Out the Flames/Light the Lamp for Burn Camp, Law Ware Shedd Murphy Foundation, JC Restorations, Volkswagen Credit, Guns and Hoses, Steamfitters Local 439, Canon Business Solutions, Terrence Hoyle Memorial Golf Outing, Tom Lutzow Family, Rock Bottom Brewery – Craftworks Foundation, Axemen of Illinois MC, Libertyville Sunrise Rotary, National Fire Sprinkler Association – Northern Illinois Chapter, 100 MPH Club, John & Anne Lichner Foundation, Volunteer Fireman's Insurance Services Midwest, and numerous individual fire departments fundraisers, 1-800-Board Up and the Fire Service of Illinois. The counselors for this camp consist of about 60 volunteer nurses, doctors, social workers, physical therapists, and child life specialists, many from local hospital burn units, such as Loyola Medical Center and University of Chicago Medical Center. In addition, some campers have gone on to become counselors themselves. "Being in the hospital with the patients seeing them at their worst, and in a lot of pain feeling like they aren't going to make it through, and then to see some of these kids years later at Camp “I Am Me” doing great just really makes me happy,” said Kathy Supple, camp volunteer and nurse from Loyola Medical Center. The camp takes place at YMCA Camp Duncan in Ingleside, IL., near Fox Lake. The YMCA provides some of its own staff to help out for the week as well. Camp Duncan hosts various cause-related camps throughout the summer in addition to Camp “I Am Me”, such as camps for children with diabetes, Tourette’s disease, asthma and more. “Thank you for the incredible work and dedication you all put into this camp yearly,” said O’Donoghue. “Austin hopes to continue as a CIT (counselor in training) when he is old enough to he says he “wants to help other kids like I’ve been helped.” How great is that? Thanks.” ### ILLINOIS FIRE SAFETY ALLIANCE P. O. Box 911  Mount Prospect, IL 60056-0911 (847) 390-0911  FAX (847) 390-0920  IL 1-800-634-0911 E-Mail: mwerder@ifsa.org  Web Site: www.ifsa.org