Burn-Injured Drummer Helps HandReach Send Youth to China with the Gift of Fire

WASHINGTON, June 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The HandReach Children's Healing Initiative is proud to present an evening with renowned drummer Dan Caro, who was burned over 70 percent of his body at age two by an exploding water heater and now tours as a popular musician, motivational speaker and author of The Gift of Fire: How I Made Adversity Work for Me.  The event will be held on Thursday, June 17th, 2010, from 7:00-9:00 p.m. at the Washington Very Special Arts Society at 1100 16th Street NW, Washington D.C., a few blocks north of the White House.

Caro, who drums without actual hands, will be appearing in D.C. for one night only to support the local non-profit organization HandReach, which works to bring best practices in pediatric burn care to hospitals in the developing world that are insufficiently equipped to handle full rehabilitation from complex burn injuries.  This year, HandReach will offer the very first specialized summer camp for burn-injured children in China, which will serve as a training venue for some of the top names in Chinese pediatric burn care.

As a burn survivor who knows the healing power of drumming from personal experience, Caro will offer a talk and drumming performance at the June 17th event, and will be available to sign copies of his new book, The Gift of Fire.  A video presentation, live music, drinks, hors d'oeuvres and an auction of Chinese "peasant paintings" (colorful scenes depicting themes from the lives of Chinese farmers) will directly benefit HandReach's healing and rehabilitative work in China and around the world.  This online folk art auction will begin taking bids on June 10th at www.ebay.com/handreach, and close at the June 17th event. Event tickets are $20, available at the door.

HandReach aims to become the premiere resource for pediatric medical and rehabilitative care for burn-injured children in the developing world.  Executive Director, Dr. Brecken Chinn Swartz, the adoptive mother of a young burn survivor from China, explains HandReach's commitment to psychosocial care and therapeutic drumming: "All of us, no matter who we are, have survived trauma, some more visible than others.  Drumming together takes us out of our eyes and more fully into our bodies to experience a powerful space of healing and acceptance that we hope to be able to share around the globe."

SOURCE HandReach