People suffering severe burns deal with the pain of healing and the resulting PTSD, sometimes for years. The Arizona Burn Foundation is there to support them and their families through the entire time, through recovery until they no longer identify as a victim, but as a human being of intrinsic value and worth.

Rex Albright has been a nonprofit leader for 19 years for chambers of commerce, Dignity Health East Valley Foundation, and the Phoenix Symphony. But it’s in his current role as CEO of the Arizona Burn Foundation that he’s found his calling.

The foundation provides assistance in three ways:

• Prevent: Providing and installation smoke alarms in high-risk homes, including specialized alarms for the deaf and hard of hearing; donating 2,400 smoke alarms to 25 fire departments for them to install where needed; reaching more than 50,000 children each year through the Milo & Moxie safety education program.
• Survive: Supporting new burn survivors with resources and client care services, including providing lodging for families outside the Phoenix area for emergencies, clinic visits, and procedures.
• Thrive: Providing life-changing social gatherings, holiday, parties and camps for survivors and their families, and therapy groups, peer support groups, and parent/caregiver support groups.

Their services extend beyond the state’s boundaries. When a New Year’s fireworks explosion in Hawaii this year killed four people and badly injured nearly two dozen more, the Hawaii burn center was overwhelmed. Six of the survivors were flown 3,000 miles to the mainland on a military plane equipped with necessary medical facilities to Arizona for treatment. The Arizona Burn Foundation provided accommodations for 20 family members of the survivors.

Click here to learn more about the Arizona Burn Foundation: https://azburn.org/

Original air date: April 3, 2025.

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