In February 2001, Sam and Matthew’s father was diagnosed with prostate cancer. For five years he fought to live, then passed away when Sam was 10 and Matthew was 8. Their mother says, “Living with and losing a parent to cancer is something no child should ever have to experience.”
Three years later, the boys’ mother discovered Camp Kesem. She didn’t know much about the camp, but knew that the boys needed to be with other kids who “got” what they were going through.
At first Sam and Matthew were reluctant to join in. But within 30 minutes they were laughing and playing with the other kids—reveling in the energy that the counselors created. When they saw their mother still standing nearby, one of them asked “why are you still here?” She says she “did the little happy dance and got in my car.”
On the surface, Camp Kesem looks like any overnight summer camp – days filled with skits, songs, sports, and tie-dying t-shirts. But the camp, a national non-profit organization that provides free, week-long overnight camps for children of cancer patients, is anything but typical.
When children’s parents are diagnosed with cancer, their lives are turned upside-down. The complexity of emotions that they experience can easily go without attention, and it is often challenging to find peers they can relate to, resulting in feelings of isolation and fear. one camper’s parent said, “It helped normalize the situation [of dealing with her parent’s cancer] and…showed her it’s okay for kids in this situation to laugh, have fun, be silly and act like kids.”
Founded in 2000, Camp Kesem has been growing and expanding across the country. In the summer of 2010, Camp Kesem will operate in 23 locations.
Camp Kesem is the only nonprofit that simultaneously serves families coping with cancer, and develops a generation of leaders. All camp programs are planned, fundraised, and staffed by volunteer college students who, among many other benefits, gain essential business and leadership experience. Student volunteers are dedicated to providing high-quality programs, and they often leave Camp Kesem changed. One student said, “I consider CK to be the most important thing I’ve done in my life. It is one of the most life-changing organizations I have been a part of.”
Learn more about Camp Kesem, donate, or find a camp: www.campkesem.org, email info@campkesem.org or call 925.212.9044. See the magic of camp: www.youtube.com/campkesembyu.
