"I want red hair too..." 11 years as a counselor at Camp Sunshine

In 2009, I was asked to do 2 weeks of Camp Sunshine.  I am normally a Teen Week Counselor, but through a weird set of circumstances, I was able to volunteer for the 7-12 year olds.  When I started at Camp in 2003, I did two years of "Junior Week" and then moved up to the teens (But I always missed those little ones.)  So that week I had created a character called "Duct Tape Man" and he would swoop in and save the day with his handy roll of Duct Tape.  I fixed everything from broken mic stands to broken wagons to "broken counselors" :)

Whenever Duct Tape Man wasn't around, I was just "mild" mannered Kappy, the fun loving Ginger Giant.  My cabin of boys were great, they were 10 yrs old and I enjoyed being part of their journey very much.  However, that week at Camp was different, because I connected with a few campers, 2 very special to my heart.

I won't use names, but I had a little girl, bald as a cue ball, that I bonded with.  As the week went on we would always see each other at meals, sing alongs and the such.  Half way through the week, we were sitting on the playground and I asked her about a wig.  She said she wanted one with RED hair and that they are the hardest to get, because no one donates red hair.  Well, at that moment, I started growing my hair out and in 2012 I donated my first 12 inches of glorious ginger locks to Locks of Love.  I have been growing it ever since and this year I will be donating another 12 inches of RED hair to Locks of Love.

The other camper is a young man with a presence 10x that of mine, and a heart that makes mine look like a pea in comparison.  He is loved by all, can dance like no other, and is fighting cancer, tooth and nail.  Camp Sunshine is his happy place, a place where people don't judge his leg braces, they don't judge his disabilities, and they certainly don't judge his smile.  This Camp is the biggest and greatest thing in his life, and I am happy to be a small piece of it.

Out of all the funding that happens for Cancer Research and Programming, only 5%... YES 5%, goes to childhood cancer.  Camp Sunshine is 100% self funded... nothing from the American Cancer Society, nothing from Susan Komen, nothing from anyone... but private donors.  YOU make Camp Sunshine happen.

It costs $1,000 to send a kid to Camp... and there are 10 kids in a cabin... Let's send a Cabin of kids to camp!

Any donation helps.  Stop drinking coffee at Starbucks for 1 week and that is a $20 donation (such a  small thing can do so much).  One date night staying in and donating that is $50 bucks... $100 is a concert that you can pass up for a kid to have a week where they are "normal" in a not so normal world.

Please help these kids go to camp... a camp where cancer can't bring them down, in fact, the hope and joy they get beats Cancer up... This place heals! This place gives life! This place is magical... be part of the magic! 

Please be part of something bigger :)

Welcome to the Army of Happiness.... You are now a Warrior of Cancer!!!

Please donate here: http://bit.ly/kappy2014

Ten Years as a counselor at Camp Sunshine...

Who knew that a chance meeting of a girl would change my life forever...

2013 marks my 10th year as a counselor at Camp Sunshine, an oncology camp for children who have or had cancer.

For the last 10 summers I have been able to have the ability to help children be normal in a not so normal world.  I have had the privilege of getting to know great kids and watch them grow from 10 year olds up to college.  I have held hands, brushed off scraped knees, watched many an amputee climb a rock wall, laughed till my sides hurt, and cried when our cabin has lost a camper.

Our cabin, Cabin 23, is a rambunctious group, led my my co-counselor Joe and myself (and our cabin Dad Bo).  We don't let cancer define these kids... we help these kids define cancer.  These young men, even at the age 15, know more about life than a lot of us have ever seen... because they had to fight for theirs... tooth and nail.  Life has changed forever for these boys, due to their treatments and the after effects that they will deal with late into their lives.  But now, right now, they are happy, safe, and able to be kids in a place that embraces their cancer and rewards them with a group of peers that have walked in their shoes.

There are so many stories I could tell you, so many times that my mind was blown by these kids, and the amount of times I sat back with pride as these men became a brotherhood... a brotherhood brought together by cancer.  I could tell you of the tears I have choked back as I watch them help each other at camp... they have never seen race, age, gender, religion, or socioeconomics... what they have seen is port scars, skull caps, prosthetic legs, and wheelchairs and all they do is push through to be better.  I have learned as much from them as they have from me... I wish more of the world was like this.

If you can help, I would like to send my 10 boys to camp this summer.  Camp is $1000 a head and I would like to raise $10,000 in the month of June for these boys.  If you can give, I will be humbled, grateful, and most of thankful you can help these boys be boys... you can help them have a week of laughter, bonding, and most of all... fun!

Do donate, just click this link

http://campsunshine.kintera.org/roadrace2013/nofa

Thank you for helping me help these kids... without great people like you, this doesn't happen.

With love,

KAPPY

NO ONE FIGHTS ALONE!

10 years ago seems like yesterday.  It was 10 years ago this month I was introduced to Camp Sunshine and the healing powers of love, that they use, to fight Childhood Cancer everyday.  In 10 years I have been able to be a part of many young lives, learn from them, and become the man I am today.  I have also found a passion in hating cancer and wanting to take it on head first by working with an organization that builds programs and events that let children with cancer feel normal in a not so normal world.

Summer Camp for kids with cancer is very hard to describe to you... but let me give it a try.  Imagine you are a child who has no hair, your best friends are your nurses, and the most joy you have in the day is when the pull the chemo pump away for the day.  Now imagine a place where this same child can swim, play, build character and confidence, grow self esteem and respect and most of all.... be a kid.  Imagine that same child on a ropes course, riding a horse, or in a kayak.   Better yet, imagine that same child with cancer, with 400 other kids fighting the same battle, all together... all fighting the same fight!

Camp Sunshine offers the ability for children to be children... Cancer makes children grow up way to fast... at Camp Sunshine, we dial that back and make them be kids :)

If you can help send a child to Camp Sunshine this summer, you WILL be making a direct impact on the life of a cancer patient who needs and can use this!

I leave you with this....
Camper #1 (On the rock climbing wall, only halfway up): "I can't go any higher, I am scared!"
Camper #2 (at the bottom of the wall, on the ground looking up): "You can do this, I know you can!"
Camper #1: "I don't think I can"
Camper#2: "Hey man, you're beating cancer, you can beat this wall.  I promise you can do this!"

Six minutes later Camper #1 rang the bell at the top of the climbing wall.  At the bottom the two campers high fived.  I cried.

That is Camp Sunshine.

To donate click her and make a difference in a child's life today who is fighting cancer

It is time to band together to fight CANCER... AGAIN!!

Hello Warriors, I am coming to you as we fight cancer again this year with our Army of Happiness. Each year Cancer preys on children, children who did nothing to bring on this fight and children who stand up and FIGHT THIS FIGHT!!! Warrior of Cancer raises money to send these children to Camp Sunshine. Camp Sunshine is a place where kids that are fighting cancer are able to be normal in a not so normal world. Kids are able to canoe, kayak, ride horses, climb rock walls and zip line... they are able to laugh, play, swim and be a child! THEY ARE ABLE TO FIGHT THIS BASTARD WITH HAPPINESS AND LOVE!!! You can make a difference... please make a donation... every little bit helps. Decide not to go out to dinner and take that $50 and give it to a child. Decide to take a week off from Starbucks and give that $25 to a child. Take that one round of golf and give that $75 to a child. Here and now YOU can make a difference!! HERE AND NOW YOU CAN CHANGE A LIFE!!! Be a Warrior with me and help stand up and Fight Cancer!!! WHOSE WITH ME!!!!!!

The ultimate goal is to send 2 cabins of kids, that is 10 boys and 10 girls to summer camp. To make that happen we need $20,000!!! We have a huge start from 4 great women out of Michigan and The Gornick Fund who have sent a check for $3000 to start us off. Only need to raise $17,000 more by June 15th!! We have 3 months to change 20 kid's lives!!!

Join my ARMY HERE
*By joining my "Team," you can help me raise funds to send kids to camp.

Make a donation to the ARMY HERE
*This is where you can make a donation to Camp Sunshine

Thank you from the bottom of my heart...

To you, your family, and the children that I fight for everyday... I pledge to fight till I have no breathe left in me...

KAPPY

INFO INFO INFO

Childhood cancers arise from noninherited mutations (or changes) in the genes of growing cells. Because these errors occur randomly and unpredictably, there's no effective way to prevent them. Typically, factors that trigger cancer in kids usually differ from those that cause cancer in adults, such as smoking or exposure to environmental toxins.

What are the most common types of childhood cancer?

Among the 12 major types of childhood cancers, leukemias (blood cell cancers) and cancers of the brain and central nervous system account for more than half of the new cases. About one-third of childhood cancers are leukemias. The most common type of leukemia in children is acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The most common solid tumors are brain tumors (e.g., gliomas and medulloblastomas), with other solid tumors (e.g., neuroblastomas, Wilms tumors, and sarcomas such as rhabdomyosarcoma and osteosarcoma) being less common.

Only 4% of the National Cancer Institute's funding goes to Childhood Cancer Research

Cancer is the leading cause of death by disease among U.S. children between infancy and age 15. Approximately 10,730 new cases of pediatric cancer are expected to be diagnosed in children 0–14 years of age in 2009. Among the major types of childhood cancers, leukemias (blood cell cancers) and brain and other central nervous system (CNS) tumors account for more than half of new cases. White children are more likely than children from any other ethnic group to develop cancer.