For five days in Fredonia, Wisconsin, Camp Kesem gathers kids of all different ages, from six-year-olds to teenagers, all of whom have parents who had or currently have cancer.
Northwestern Kesem’s first of two summer sessions began Tuesday, marking another year of the chapter’s free summer camp for children.
Since the camp is free of charge for all children, it requires significant Kesem fundraising. Rising Weinberg junior and Development Coordinator Taylor Massey said Kesem met this year’s fundraising goal of $140,000 through profit shares, grants and its annual Make the Magic gala.
“Camp wouldn’t happen without fundraising,” she said. “We don’t really receive a large portion of money from Kesem nationals. We also historically haven’t gotten a ton from Northwestern; this year is an exception to that.”
Massey said that fundraising is a necessity to pay for the campground, food and other camp-related expenses.
Kesem operates like a typical camp, according to rising Weinberg senior and Fundraising Gala Planner Ella Galvin. Day-to-day activities include swimming, games and fun events, including the “Messy Olympics,” Galvin said.
Aside from fun activities, the camp coordinates more serious evening activities that focus on cancer, including an activity called “Empowerment,” where campers and counselors “get together to acknowledge why we are here,” according to the Kesem website.
“It’s not a camp that focuses on cancer, but it is the overarching connector,” said rising Weinberg junior Elizabeth Bair, who was a camp counselor last summer.
Galvin and Bair agreed that Kesem is a memorable experience for both campers and counselors.
To contribute to the camp’s whimsical atmosphere, counselors go by nicknames throughout the entire session. Rather than going by Ella, Galvin is referred to as “Loaf” at camp.
“It’s mostly for the campers, like, they all get special names, too,” she said. “It’s just to make it an even more magical place where they can be disconnected from their life at home.”
Along with the memorable friendships and experiences campers make, Bair said there is an incredibly tight-knit community between the counselors too.
“It really has created a community for me,” she said. “Everyone is so unbelievably genuine and caring. I’m surrounded by the kindest people.”
Students such as Galvin and Bair joined Kesem because they liked their previous experiences as camp counselors for other programs.
Bair said she had only joined the camp due to her past summers as a camp counselor in high school. Now, however, the message behind Kesem has become very meaningful to her.
“I don’t think that I really understood Kesem’s significance and impact regarding cancer and how it impacts families until after I really joined the club,” Bair said. “I think it just makes it all the more important and special.”
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Related stories:
— Camp Kesem raises over $45,000 at annual Make the Magic gala
— NU Kesem plans annual Make the Magic Gala to fund summer camp
— “I’m more in my own skin:” NU student camp counselors reflect on the meaning their work brings them
