The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation is proud to join The Phoenix Society during Burn Awareness Week 2018 to empower burn survivors, to show burn survivors as positive role models, and to raise awareness and acceptance by sharing the real-life stories of those recovering from a burn injury.
In the movies we watch, characters with burn scars share the same damaging stereotypes. They are evil, ashamed of their scars, masked, alone…and these are just a few examples! We see the same stories over and over again, but how often do we pause to think of the impact they have on real people with scars?
As young burn survivors look for role models in movies and TV, they find only villains, vigilantes, and victims with scars like theirs. They don’t see burn survivors save the day, make friends, or fall in love. So we think it’s time for a better story. It’s time for a hero.
Campaign Goals
- EMPOWER SURVIVORS by celebrating the strength of real-world survivors and providing tools to fight for better media representation.
- BUILD ACCEPTANCE by showing the real stories behind burn scars and decreasing stigma against burn survivors.
- INCREASE AWARENESS by calling attention to negative stereotypes and their impact on those recovering from a burn injury.
Spread the Word
Here’s how you can help bring awareness to this issue and join the fight for better representation:
- Visit Phoenix Society’s website to learn more about media representation and its impact on burn survivors.
- Follow Phoenix Society on Facebook to share stories, graphics, and videos throughout Burn Awareness Week.
- Attend Phoenix Society’s Grand Rapids panel, It’s Time For A Hero: Scars in Pop Culture. You can join us in person or via Facebook Live.
- Join the conversation by posting a message about media representation of burn scars on your own channels. Tag Phoenix Society so we can share with our followers.
- If you’d like to do a fundraiser or employee engagement campaign during Burn Awareness Week, contact Phoenix Society for more information.
