Nearly 30 children could be found fishing, dancing, molding chocolate or just laughing and being themselves throughout the 2,200-acre campus of St. Andrew’s School in Middletown last week.
The kids were all campers at Kay’s Kamp, a week-long oncology camp for children with cancer.
The camp, which has been providing a week of carefree fun to campers for two years now, was inspired by Kaylyn Warren, who lost her 17-month battle with Leukemia in March 2008 when she was 18 years old.
Gretchen Loose, program director for Kay’s Kamp, said the best part of camp is it lets the kids just be kids.
“There’s no major rules,” she said. “It’s OK to dress funny or to be silly. These kids don’t usually get a lot of that.”
This year, campers watched some of their favorite films like “Indiana Jones,” “Star Wars,” and “High School Musical” come alive as they celebrated the theme, “Kay’s Kamp Goes to the Movies,” which was chosen last year by 13-year-old Pearce Quesenberry.
Pearce returned to camp this year for the friendships and fun she is able to take away.
“It’s a good escape from the everyday issues that kids with cancer go through,” she said.
Campers like 14-year-old Hesham Nassar enjoyed time in the arts and crafts area where “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” inspired them to mold white chocolate and create their own version of the Academy Award. Others like 6-year-old Drew Koenig could be found dancing and singing on stage at the school’s O’Brien Arts Center to the tunes of Alvin and the Chipmunks.
Nassar said camp allowed him to meet a lot of other children going through the same things he is and he plans to return again next year.
“If kids who struggle come to this camp or others like it, they know that there’re others who know what they’re feeling,” he said.
Justin Wilcox, 9, said he enjoyed fishing the most during his time at camp.
“We caught an eel,” he said. “That was fun, but it was hard to reel in. We had to cut the line because we thought he might be electrical.”
Loose said between the daily pranks and the nightly entertainment, no one goes home unhappy at the end of the week.
“It’s a great experience for everyone,” she said. “I think the staff gets just as much out of it as the kids.”
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Nearly 30 children could be found fishing, dancing, molding chocolate or just laughing and being themselves throughout the 2,200-acre campus of St. Andrew’s School in Middletown last week.
The kids were all campers at Kay’s Kamp, a week-long oncology camp for children with cancer.
The camp, which has been providing a week of carefree fun to campers for two years now, was inspired by Kaylyn Warren, who lost her 17-month battle with Leukemia in March 2008 when she was 18 years old.
Gretchen Loose, program director for Kay’s Kamp, said the best part of camp is it lets the kids just be kids.
“There’s no major rules,” she said. “It’s OK to dress funny or to be silly. These kids don’t usually get a lot of that.”
This year, campers watched some of their favorite films like “Indiana Jones,” “Star Wars,” and “High School Musical” come alive as they celebrated the theme, “Kay’s Kamp Goes to the Movies,” which was chosen last year by 13-year-old Pearce Quesenberry.
Pearce returned to camp this year for the friendships and fun she is able to take away.
“It’s a good escape from the everyday issues that kids with cancer go through,” she said.
Campers like 14-year-old Hesham Nassar enjoyed time in the arts and crafts area where “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” inspired them to mold white chocolate and create their own version of the Academy Award. Others like 6-year-old Drew Koenig could be found dancing and singing on stage at the school’s O’Brien Arts Center to the tunes of Alvin and the Chipmunks.
Nassar said camp allowed him to meet a lot of other children going through the same things he is and he plans to return again next year.
“If kids who struggle come to this camp or others like it, they know that there’re others who know what they’re feeling,” he said.
Justin Wilcox, 9, said he enjoyed fishing the most during his time at camp.
“We caught an eel,” he said. “That was fun, but it was hard to reel in. We had to cut the line because we thought he might be electrical.”
Loose said between the daily pranks and the nightly entertainment, no one goes home unhappy at the end of the week.
“It’s a great experience for everyone,” she said. “I think the staff gets just as much out of it as the kids.”
