Help us fund Midwest Children's Burn Camp for 2022!

Midwest Children’s Burn Camp (MCBC) is a week-long, overnight camp for youth burn survivors, ages 6-17, from throughout the Midwest that serves an average of 70 campers each year. MCBC is accredited by the American Camp Association (ACA), confirming it provides an effective and empowering experience for young people that meets the highest standards of safety and integrity in the camping industry!

In 2022, our 26^th annual MCBC will be held July 31-August 7 at Camp Taum Sauk in Lesterville, MO!

A detailed description of MCBC follows and below are just some of the items we need funding for camp this year! We hope that you will choose to support MCBC with a gift to our organization!

Thank you!

• Send a camper to camp for the entire week! - $2,500
• Bucket Hats - $2,000
• Swim shirts - $2,000
• Sweatshirts - $2,000
• Sweatpants - $2,000
• Lifeguarding - $2,000
• Towels - $2,000
• Ponchos - $1,800
• T-shirts - $1,800
• Water shoes - $1,800
• Water bottles - $1,500
• Food for the campers on the busses to/from camp - $1,500
• Art Supplies for campers’ expressive projects - $1,500
• Walkie Talkies - $1,000
• Flashlights or headlamps for every camper - $1,000
• Educational materials for different age groups related to burn care and trauma - $1,000
• River party social & ice cream social - $500
• Snow cones at Elephant Rocks - $400
• Burns recovered masks - $300
• Pizza luncheon for aging-out campers and counselors-in-training - $300
• Activities for one day while at camp for a camper - $100

The mission of Midwest Children’s Burn Camp (MCBC) shares Burns Recovered’s mission: to help burn survivors live life to the fullest without fear, limitations, or insecurity. All of our programs for youth and adult burn survivors and their families share these goals, but MCBC is uniquely tailored to meet them because of the shared experiences, targeted interventions, and community building made possible in an overnight camp setting.

MCBC’s goal is to provide a supportive, safe, and fun experience for young burn survivors to encourage healing, personal growth, and character development. The Camp’s activities are based around the needs youth burn survivors face. Children who survive a serious burn injury cope with physical effects and emotional trauma from the incident that persists throughout their lives. Burn injured children are significantly more likely than their peers to experience lower feelings of self-worth, difficulties with peer and adult relationships, and decreased participation in physical and social activities. They also experience problems coping with societal reactions to their outward appearance and challenges in discussing their injuries with others. This can have long-lasting negative effects on their physical, emotional, and social lives and livelihood. These challenges, combined with the fact that burn-injured youth are more likely to be from at-risk households, compound the effects of the injury even further. Because of these realities, we offer our camp at no charge, including transportation, to insure as many children as possible are able to attend.

Our camp is led by our Volunteer Camp Director (a St. Louis City Fire Captain), our Volunteer Camp Medical Director (a Registered Nurse Practitioner), and our Director of Youth Services Staff who is a master’s level Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Our other camp staff are volunteers who come from a variety of backgrounds including school counselors, teachers, nurses, fire-fighters, first responders, and fellow burn survivors. Our counselor to camper ratio is 1:2 to insure all campers receive individualized attention and supervision.

Our evaluation of MCBC shows that both new and returning campers increase their independence and friendship skills, teamwork and problem solving abilities, connectedness to others, and self-esteem. Our first year campers are introduced to experiences they have never encountered before and would likely not have the opportunity to participate in was it not for our camp. Nearly all of our campers return in subsequent years because of their prior beneficial experience and are able to build on the positive benefits year after year.

In the months between camps, Burns Recovered staff and volunteers connect with campers and their families to provide additional services and special events/outings are offered between camps to maintain connectedness and consistency. Our campers continue to be involved with our organization and programs after they “age-out” of camp at 18 years. Many continue to serve as volunteer “Counselors in Training” or special event volunteers to give back to their younger peers, helping them as they were once helped. We have some that even go on to serve as peer educators/supporters for new burn survivors. Our staff and volunteers have long term relationships with the campers throughout their lives, and many life successes they obtain are influenced by the experiences and relationships made with our organization. Our campers are also eligible for academic/education scholarships and “passion” scholarships that aid them in their future career and life paths.

We hope that you will choose to support our amazing program, Midwest Children’s Burn Camp!

Thank you so much!