UC Irvine Giving Day

Support the UCI Health Regional Burn Center Patient and Survivor Programs

Help us meet the challenge! Chris Wilkins, a grateful patient and donor, is offering a special Giving Day challenge in honor of the Burn Center that helped save his life after he developed life-threatening Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis. The first 10 gifts received will unlock $6,000 in support of the Burn Center’s lifesaving programs, and when we reach 20 gifts, an additional $6,000 will be unlocked.

The UCI Health Regional Burn Center is the only burn center in Orange County—and one of approximately 80 in the nation—verified by the American College of Surgeons and the American Burn Association. Each year, our team treats more than 600 patients, one third of them children, for mild to severe and life-threatening burns. We provide comprehensive and holistic care of our patients at the most critical time of their lives, while supporting essential aftercare and community reintegration for burn survivors and their loved ones. 

Your gift will support the highest levels of care provided by UCI Health’s knowledge-driven team. The UCI Health Regional Burn Center offers unparalleled, next-level care for those who have suffered serious burns, especially our children. There is no better place in our region or our world for exceptional burn care.
 
All donations benefit the essential, life-saving care and programs only available through UCI Health, including the following vital services: 

• Monthly burn survivor support groups.
• Access to specialized camps for pediatric burn survivors that provide the emotional and social skills necessary for thriving after a burn injury.
• The Survivors Offering Assistance in Recovery (SOAR) program, which links the newly injured with peer supporters.
• An annual holiday party and summer picnic for burn survivors.
• Scholarships for burn survivors to attend the annual World Burn Congress, where burn survivors from around the country gather for emotional healing.
• Educational resources for our burn team to participate in regional and national conferences to continue to shape the future of burn treatment and provide the highest level of patient care. 

Thanks to our generous donors, we were able to provide the following to our patients, survivors and families in the last year:

• Our Summer Twilight Picnic welcomed 100 burn survivors and their families and friends.
• Our peer supporters had 75 visits with patients in the outpatient clinic.
• Our social worker led 10 support groups in our hybrid format.
• Our Winter Celebration welcomed 125 survivors and their families and friends for crafts, toys and prizes as well as an opportunity to meet other survivors.
• Burn survivor magazines, books and other resources for our patients offering hope and guidance in their recovery.
• Burn prevention resources distributed by our teams at community health fairs, equipping families with life-saving knowledge and resources.

Help us to continue to offer these life-saving programs and services by making a gift today! A gift of any size will have a meaningful impact. In honor of the 59th anniversary of the UCI Health Regional Burn Center, below are a few examples of the impact your gift can make today.

• $5.90 can provide one pediatric patient with art supplies or toys.
• $59 can cover the costs for one person to attend our Summer Twilight Picnic or Winter Celebration.
• $590 can cover the costs for two survivors to become peer supporters, and four donations at this level can send one survivor to the World Burn Congress.
• $5,900 can cover all costs for our Summer Twilight Picnic.

Your gift truly makes a difference for burn patients, survivors and their families.

Please contact Joy Kliewer, PhD, senior director of development, at joy.kliewer@uci.edu or 310-486-9265 to learn more about the Burn Center and opportunities for support.