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Advocating for the business development of the promotional products industry through events, networking, and education

* Guest Blogger * Barry Roberts * Happiness is Camping *

July 30, 2012 8:06 PM | Anonymous
Many years ago, I was there at the start of a charitable foundation, sponsored by SAAGNY, a business association of which I was a member. One of our first decisions was to bring some joy the children attending Happiness is Camping in Blairstown, NJ; a very special camp for children with cancer.



Our annual event happened today (July 18, 2012) and it was awesome. I arrived early and saw one of the counselors, a tall handsome young man about 20 years old. The camp grounds seemed quiet. I guessed that the campers were in the cafeteria having breakfast. I asked him if he had seen any of the others from my group. He advised me that they were all in one of the other buildings getting set up. As we walked along together, he said, “You know, I remember you from when I was a kid and a camper here. You were one of the pirates. We always loved Pirate Day, it was always really great.”

NOTE: The campers call it Pirate Day because we establish a pirate motif to the day. Some of us (me included) dress as pirates & basically, run around with big water guns and cause (innocent) mischief all day…what fun!

I was a bit stunned. “Wait a minute,” I said. “You were one of the campers here?”

“Yeah, I was. I graduated college and I work as an EMT now while I am studying to be a…”

“One second,” I interrupted, “so you’re OK? I mean everything is good?”

“Oh yeah”, he told me, “I’m fine now & I had to come and give back as a counselor for a few weeks.”

He saw the tears welling up in my I eyes. I get real emotional with and for these kids and I was so happy about this one. “Hey, it’s OK, I’m all good,” he said as he gave me a comforting hug.

This sort of thing happens every few years at the camp and it’s always extraordinary and very emotional for me. There were three such young men there this year. How fantastic!
I assured him I’d see him later and went on to meet my colleagues. As the day went on, we had a big scavenger hunt (the campers were divided into teams, filled the rec room with carnival games, enjoyed some arts and crafts (with supplies provided by our foundation), set up a carnival type photo booth complete with costumes and accessories for the kids, went to the gym for more games and a team Karaoke contest (we later donated the Karaoke equipment (speakers, mics, amp, discs and video screen) to the camp. At the end of the day, each team was invited into the prize room where each camper could pick any prize they wanted from a collection of games and toys (truly thousands of dollars worth). Every camper and counselor also got a goody bag filled with some great stuff. All in all it’s a fantastic day for the children. They smile laugh, play and hopefully forget their troubles for the day.

These children are so very special. Their spirit and attitude are as high and positive as you can imagine. It has been 12 years that I’ve been participating in this event and I have never seen a “woe is me” outlook from any of them. Watching the stronger kids helping the weaker ones is just a beautiful thing to see. Some appear to be fine; there are amputees, those with wheelchairs, crutches and oxygen tanks. Some have no hair and others have no energy, yet no one makes an issue out of it. They have this one big bonding factor, Cancer. They are all determined to beat it, to help each other get through and to have a good time…just like any other kid.

I love these children, I pray for their well being and I wish to be there as often as I can to help them smile. It is an exhausting day, both physically and especially emotionally and when it is over, I know I did a good thing today and I feel wonderful. Is that a little bit selfish?
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