Northwestern’s Camp Kesem chapter hosted its annual Make the Magic gala Saturday night, raising more than $45,000 for the club’s year-long programming efforts and summer camp activities.

Camp Kesem is a nationwide nonprofit that supports children whose parents have been diagnosed with cancer. In addition to planning year-long programming, NU’s Kesem chapter hosts two weeks of free summer camps for children of cancer patients.

The organization has chapters at colleges around the country that run similar programming to support kids through and beyond a parent’s cancer diagnosis, Communication senior and NU Kesem co-Director Sophia Gambill said.

“Everything is completely free of cost to our campers and their families,” Gambill said. “The Northwestern chapter specifically has been around since 2004, and we serve over 150 campers each summer and throughout the year.”

The gala was held in Kenilworth Assembly Hall in the North Shore suburb of Kenilworth. All the proceeds went directly to NU’s Kesem chapter.

The gala featured a silent auction and a paddle raise to contribute to their donations, Weinberg sophomore and Kesem volunteer coordinator William Pirosch said.

The donations cover the costs of the buses to and from camp, camp lodging, meals and other programming events throughout the year, Gambill said.

“It’s funding for camp over the summer, funding for NU programs and funding for making sure we can put this on next year,” Pirosch said. “We have an overall fundraising goal, and this goes toward that.”

Make the Magic is a space not just for campers, but for families and student leaders, said Kyra Doherty, a Communication sophomore and co-coordinator for alumni marketing and public relations.

In addition to hosting donors, families and student leaders, Make the Magic provides an opportunity for the community to hear directly from the campers. On Saturday night, two campers gave speeches about their personal experiences with Kesem.

“I think what’s really cool about Make the Magic is that it’s a space for the camper families and donors to come, and the student leaders can be in the same space together,” Doherty said. “That doesn’t happen often since at camp, it’s really just the kids and the counselors. So it is really cool that everyone can mingle and talk.”

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