Kevin

 

     Kevin, a local resident of San Francisco, was enjoying his thursday evening in a local park.  As we began to ask questions about Kevin’s involvement with non-profits, he began to open up. Although Kevin was involved with many volunteer organizations, he was never involved with a burn victim organization. Personally, Kevin had lost 3 homes and apartments, and his wife had suffered from severe scar burns. In response to our platform he said, “If she had a platform to talk to other burn victims, she would have definitely used it. She wouldn’t even leave the house in a bathing suit out of shame, or even talk to me about her how she was feeling.”

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Tiffany

 

Tiffany wants to know where here money’s going, and real evidence that the organization is truly helping people.

     Tiffany, the manager at Soma Eats, had tried to organize fundraisers in the past for Syrian refugees; however, the events fell through. She seemed very passionate about helping her community, though she explained: for her to be truly interested in helping a cause, she would need to be first-hand related to the cause or have someone close who can relate. Along those lines, Tiffany also stated, “I believe more so in devoting my time to a cause and not necessarily just donating my money”. We asked her why, and she simply clarified that there are so many charity organizations and such, which lack transparency. She thought that if she donated money, she wouldn’t know where the money was going, or if all of it was even going to the cause or just being spent for marketing or employee salaries. 

 

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Thomas*

He said he would “prefer to help out local community organizations” through some sort of outdoor/physical activities.

     Thomas, a San Francisco local, frequently donates to his church. While open to the idea of volunteering for local organizations, he has never actively seeked any out. He offered insight that people obviously donate to organizations that they have a personal connection to. He did not know anyone who had been burned before and his parents never made any precautions to prevent he from being burned as a child.

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Kimel

 

He conveyed the idea that he had to have a personal connection to the organization for it to be worth his while.

     Kimel, a Russian immigrant, does not work with any organizations but was willing to volunteer for a “good cause.” Having not yet found his calling, he said he looks for organizations that helps people similar to him. When asked of his knowledge regarding burns, his response was “my parents never took any steps to prevent burns. They simply taught me not to play with fire.” Not knowing any burn victims, he saw not aware of the issue or social stigmas surrounding it.
 

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Dr. Don

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Doctors are more aware of burn risks than the general public; thus, they are typically more supportive of promoting awareness and the emotional support side of the mission. We should partner with doctors.

    Dr. Don is a pathologist at Huntington Hospital in California, who was enjoying brunch in Arcadia on a Sunday morning. Although he hasn’t worked with any burn survivors in the past, he is aware of the implications and risks associated with being burned. Dr. Don has colleagues who work at burn centers in the Los Angeles area. He demonstrated significant interest in the concept of a nonprofit to support burn survivors and work on prevention and stated that he and his hospital would “gladly support such a cause”. Dr. Don mentioned that he “didn’t allow [his] children to play in the kitchen and never drank tea or coffee around them” in fear of exposing them to potential hazards. As for fundraising, he recommended partnering with larger companies like Google (which he recognized as a lofty goal) and he liked the idea of selling merchandise that served a larger purpose. 

 

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Dr. Jiao

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    Dr. Jiao is a doctor in her 60’s who works in internal medicine. She was interviewed on Saturday night, waiting for a table outside of an Asian restaurant. As a doctor who specialized in internal organs, she admitted to being less concerned with topical burns. However, she stated that she was “aware of what a burn was and how difficult they were to treat”. She seemed disinterested throughout the conversational interview, so I ended up cutting it short when her table was called.

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*signifies people wishing to remain anonymous