History

The Story Behind Action for Burns & Children

Action for Burns & Children is dedicated to the prevention of burn and scald injuries to children and the treatment of those who have suffered injuries.

The origins of the organisation predate its official formation by nearly 20 years. Staff from the London-based global leadership and advisory firm Cripps Sears & Partners have been fundraising for burns charities independently since 1995, and these events have included concerts, golf days, direct corporate donations and the early form of the Bike and Hike Challenge.

These endurance events took place in a range of locations, including the USA, Russia, Finland, Estonia, Crimea and Uzbekistan. The longest and toughest bike challenge started in Helsinki and finished in Moscow, travelling via St. Petersburg. It took two weeks and covered c1000 miles.

In 2008 Cripps Sears decided to formalise the fundraising efforts by creating the Action for Burns and Children foundation, to celebrate the company’s 35th birthday.

The first of the South African Hike and Bike Challenges, along the Garden Route to Cape Town, took place in 2011 and has been an annual event ever since.

In 2018 ABC marked its ten-year anniversary and set itself the objective to increase fundraising and to expand prevention programmes to more countries in sub-Saharan Africa, by drawing on our close collaboration with the Phoenix Burns Project team in Cape Town.