At this year’s Festival of Trees, we were honored to present Matt Cunningham with the Legacy Award, recognizing a lifetime of advocacy and compassion for burn survivors and their loved ones.

Since 2001, Cunningham Law Firm has donated more than $2 million to the Arizona Burn Foundation. Their ongoing support makes it possible for ABF to continue with its survivor-focused programs and services such as peer support, lodging, transportation, and everyday expenses when families need it most. Their leadership also helped launch our Smoke Alarm Program, which has installed 39,000 free smoke alarms in vulnerable homes across the Valley, saving lives through prevention.

We are deeply grateful to Cunningham Law Firm for their unwavering generosity and decades-long commitment to our mission and for their commitment as our Presenting Sponsor for the Festival of Trees.

During his remarks at Festival of Trees, Matt spoke about the case that inspired him to help support burn survivors. “In 1998, I represented a man named Steve Hamelin who was badly burned as a result of an automotive defect. During that case, I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Caruso who was the director of the Arizona Burn Center and Ruth Rimmer, Director of the Arizona Burn Foundation. I was inspired by the strength and resiliency of my client, his family, and the great work being performed by the Arizona Burn Center and Arizona Burn Foundation. At that point, I made the decision and expressed the desire to commit my legal career to representing burn survivors and their families. I am deeply blessed to be part of the burn community and to support this mission.”

Thank you, Matt Cunningham and Cunningham Law Firm, for standing beside burn survivors and ABF for nearly three decades and for helping ensure that no one walks their healing journey alone.