Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

I am back in the Mendon Office today, and we have begun our second week of the Doing A World Of Good Program, in which children with cancer from countries around the world spend two weeks at our beautiful Recreational Facility on Keuka Lake and are joined by two different groups of campers from the United States.



We have been extremely busy since my last post. Friday afternoons are always a tough day, as this is when the majority of our residential camping programs come to an end, and this past Friday was no exception. The campers all hugged each other goodbye, knowing that they may not see each other again, as the international campers will be returning to their home countries, and particularly with the programs for children who are dealing with cancer, the campers know that unfortunately they may not see each other again. Some campers will age out of the program, and while we certainly hope that some of them will return as volunteers in the future, some will go on to begin the next chapter of their life. Some campers will not be able to return due to a recurrence of their cancer and / or the treatments, and sadly, some campers will lose their battle with this horrific disease.



The end of a program is an emotional time, but I always tell the volunteers that if at the end of the week, when the buses and vans arrive to take the campers home, and the campers do not want to leave, that when they do actually get on the bus and depart, the volunteers will feel so good about all that they helped to make possible for these special campers.



Since the international campers and chaperones stay for two weeks, we always try to plan some activities and outings for them during the weekend in-between the two programs. On Friday evening, they headed out to Ponderosa in Geneva for dinner, followed by some shopping at the Waterloo Premium Outlets. On Saturday, we had to do some adapting and adjusting, for which we have become famous! Our original plan was to take our guests to Eastview Mall and Wal-Mart in Victor for some additional shopping, but as everyone got ready to leave, there was no bus to take them. So, we made some arrangements for a different bus and although they did not have time to go to the mall, we did bring everyone into Rochester for a Picnic and the Rochester Red Wings baseball game at Frontier Field. It was a beautiful evening and everyone had a great time. It was the first time, in a long time, that I stayed for the entire game and even the fireworks. It was so exciting to be with these special campers, like the young man from Ethiopia who had the experience of attending his first baseball game and seeing fireworks for the first time! I am not sure who was more excited…him or me! The Red Wings won the game, which was icing on the cake and we want to give special thanks to our friend and Board Member, Peter Parts, who graciously bought all of the campers Dippin’ Dots Ice Cream. Towards the end of the evening, we saw Red Wings General Manager, Dan Mason, who has been a very good personal friend of mine and friend to the children at Camp Good Days. He took the time to meet some of the campers and made sure that everyone left with a souvenir baseball.



To make up for Saturday’s missed shopping trip, we brought all of the international campers and chaperones to Eastview Mall and Wal-Mart on Sunday. They returned in time to meet the volunteers arriving for the second week of the Doing A World Of Good Program. All of our volunteers are required to attend two training sessions, the second of which takes place the evening prior to start of each program.



Yesterday officially began the second week of the Doing A World Of Good Program with a flurry of activity. The American campers arrived at the Recreational Facility around 11:30 AM, and met their fellow campers and volunteers and got settled into their cabins.



Monroe County Executive, Maggie Brooks, who has been a longtime friend of Wendy and I, came to visit on Monday morning and she had the chance to see the many improvements and changes we have made at the Recreational Facility. In addition, she had the opportunity to see her old NEWS10NBC colleague, Joe Paglia, who has been a volunteer at Camp Good Days for the past 30 years, and old friend, Mike Falvo, who has been a volunteer for the past 32 years. She also had the chance to meet some of our campers and volunteers and joined us for lunch.



The Rochester Rhinos Soccer Team made their annual visit to Camp Good Days! Everyone had lunch together and then had a blast playing soccer tennis, racing down the slip and slide, playing basketball and much more. The team ended their visit with an ice cream social, group photo and the Rhinos, led by Head Coach, Bob Lilley, were kind enough to give a Rochester Rhinos Program to all of the campers who were able to get autographs from the players.



As we do the first evening of each program, we held a special prayer service, in our beautiful Outdoor Chapel, which provides everyone with the chance to reflect and remember those who are not able to be with us. Father David Ambuske and Sister Fran Quinn were on hand, as they have been for the past 30 years, to preside over the service. The campers completed their first day of the program with dinner and a Camp Fire.



I headed back to Rochester late last night, as I have some meetings today. This afternoon I taped an interview with Katrina Irwin at WROC TV-8 / FOX Rochester regarding the progress we have been making with CANCER MISSION 2020 and the upcoming Congressional District Cancer Summits. Tonight we have a training for the volunteers who will be helping out with the Junior Good Days Program in Rochester, which is a day-camp program for children ages 4-7 who would qualify for any of our programs but are still too young to attend residential camp. The Junior Good Days Program, which is always great fun, will take place next Monday, August 8, 2011 through Thursday, August 11, 2011 and the campers will have the chance to visit Seneca Park Zoo, Seabreeze, Strong Museum, and more. From there I will head to East High School in the city to attend the Parent / Guardian Meeting for those children who be attending the Rochester City School District Leadership Program, which we host at Camp Good Days next Monday, August 8, 2011 through Thursday, August 11, 2011, in cooperation with the Rochester City School District, for children who are transitioning from elementary school to middle school.



Tonight I will stay in Rochester and then get up bright and early tomorrow morning to head back to the Recreational Facility. Our Mendon Office will be closed tomorrow, as we will be having a Staff Meeting and our Annual Summer Open House at Camp. The Summer Open House is always a great afternoon and evening, especially if we are blessed with some good weather. The Open House gives us the chance to show the facility to some of our friends and supporters who help throughout the year to make all that we do possible. We will also have a special induction ceremony for those who are being inducted into the Camp Good Days’ Ring of Honor. The Camp Good Days’ Ring of Honor was established as part of our 25th Anniversary Celebration in 2004 and includes those who are selected for their outstanding dedication, commitment and support of the thousands of children and families served over the years. We look forward to honoring and recognizing these outstanding volunteers and supporters and having their bricks permanently placed into the Ring of Honor. We will also have a cookout dinner, music and dancing, and will conclude the evening with fireworks.



On Thursday we are looking forward to having some new friends visit the Camp Good Days’ Recreational Facility, who are part of the Hockey vs. Cancer group and are working on a special fundraising event in the fall to support Camp Good Days. I will also have one last chance to spend some time with some of our international guests, as they will be departing to return home on Friday.



I will be back in Rochester on Friday for some meetings and will then be heading to the Rochester Rhinos game at Sahlen’s Stadium, where we will be bringing those international campers and chaperones who do not depart until Saturday, to see the game and the players they got to meet yesterday.



It’s another busy week but a good one and I am looking forward to the weekend and the start of next week, when we will put the finishing touches on the plans for the four Congressional District Cancer Summits coming up, as part of CANCER MISSION 2020…THE END OF CANCER BY THE END OF THE DECADE.



For all of the up-to-date information CANCER MISSION 2020 and the Congressional District Cancer Summits, including dates, locations, guest speakers and more, please visit www.cancermission2020.com and please join us in this important initiative by signing the CANCER MISSION 2020 Petition and sharing the site with your network of contacts. We can only succeed in putting an end to cancer by the end of the decade, if we all come together in a cooperative and collaborative way!

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