This summer, Camp Kesem Northwestern will welcome about 30 more campers in its largest size increase to date. The overnight camp for Chicagoland-area children whose parents have had cancer will also add a new counselor-in-training program.
Camp Kesem is a national initiative that began at Stanford University in 2000 and has expanded to more than 20 college campuses. Started in 2003, Camp Kesem Northwestern offers children who have a parent who has died of cancer, is being treated for cancer or is in remission a place to stay for one week. The camp will run from June 10 to June 15 this year.
More than 40 NU students will work as counselors after undergoing training and working to fundraise throughout the year, said McCormick sophomore Emily Kelly, a Camp Kesem co-chair.
About 90 campers will attend Camp Kesem, compared to the 60 campers last year, said Weinberg junior Ajay Haryani, a counselor since his freshman year and a member of the executive board. Eighty students applied to be counselors, and only 40 were selected.
“The No. 1 priority is to build self-esteem for the kids. The goal is to give them their childhood back for a week, but (the counselors) have to be prepared if something serious comes up,” Haryani said.
The counselors make a point not to bring up the word “cancer,” but if a camper chooses to do so, they are trained how to handle it. There is also a therapist who comes to the camp to help children if necessary.
Each counselor goes through three training sessions, one in the winter and two in the spring. Counselors learn behavioral management skills, how to deal with serious issues and camp rules. Along with the training sessions, counselors are expected to watch five to six hours of video and take quizzes, all of which happens over four or five months.
Kelly said she was very excited about the influx of applicants because she said it meant the program is generating more awareness. Along with an increase in campers, the camp will include more expensive events such as a bubblologist, reptologist and dunk tank.
Haryani said with the increase in campers, Camp Kesem has reached the capacity of the campsite at the YMCA Camp MacLean in Burlington, Wis.
“The cause of Camp Kesem is one a lot of kids have to deal with,” Haryani said. “Each year the programming gets better. There isn’t a definite reason for the increase in campers – we did try reaching out more, but people also may have had more interest.”
However, completely filling the campsite could force Camp Kesem to turn away applicants for the first year ever, said Weinberg senior Benjamin Yu, a finance co-chair. Yu said this depends on whether additional families contact the camp in the near future. Usually, interested campers can turn in the application past the April 10 deadline and still secure a spot.
“We’re discussing what to do,” Yu said. “Do we turn away families? We have an amazing return rate. Campers who do the program almost always come back. There was one kid who moved to Nebraska and came back just for Camp Kesem.”
The camp is also introducing a counselor-in-training program. Children ages 6 to 16 are eligible to attend Camp Kesem. But starting this year, high school juniors and seniors can partake in the camp through the CIT program. These former campers are trained with the NU counselors, Haryani said.
The CITs will have some counselor-like roles and take part in a community service project, such as working in a soup kitchen or some other community organization, said Weinberg junior Molly Berridge, a counselor in charge of the CIT program. The push to implement this program came from the campers themselves because they wanted to be involved in a more immersive way, Yu said. Three girls will return this year to partipate in the CIT program. All have been campers for many years, Kelly said, making the transition to counselor easier.
“The hope is once they start college, they will continue involvement with Camp Kesem at the college level,” she said.
Camp Kesem held its annual Make the Magic fundraising event April 19 at Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery in downtown Chicago. The event included an open bar and a silent auction with 140 tickets sold and $5,500 raised, Yu said. Last year, the event raised $6,500. Despite the decreased funds, Yu said he considered Make the Magic a success.
The money earned from the fundraiser goes toward the costs of putting the kids through the camp itself, Yu said. The cost is about $500 per child, including food and transportation. In addition, counselors must raise more money to fund all the programming and activities. This is done by letter-writing campaigns, canning and Make the Magic.
