I had the pleasure of spending the past couple of days at the Camp Good Days’ Recreational Facility, where we have been hosting the Rochester City School District Leadership Program, for children from the district who will be making the transition from elementary school to middle school. The program went really well, with a great group of students and a few special guests. On Tuesday, Rochester City School District Interim Superintendent, Dr. Bolgen Vargas came to visit with the students and see the program in action. Later that afternoon, Monroe County District Attorney, Mike Green came and had the chance to speak to the students and answer their questions. On Wednesday, United States Attorney, Bill Hochul, along with Sam and Barb from his office, came to visit, take a tour of the facility and Bill also spoke to the students and answered their questions. This special program concluded earlier today and I am confident that the students who participated are better prepared to successfully head into middle school next month.
I returned home to Rochester last night and this morning we had our monthly Project Exile Advisory Board Meeting. Despite many members being on their end of the summer vacations, we had a productive meeting and are looking forward to finalizing plans for our Project Exile 13th Anniversary Report to the Community Breakfast, which has been scheduled for Tuesday, September 27, 2011. It is hard to believe that the Project Exile program has been going strong for 13 years and the cooperation, collaboration and partnerships amongst the many law enforcement, prosecutorial, and service agency members is truly remarkable and not seen in many communities.
Today also concludes our Junior Good Days Program, here in Rochester. The campers have had a fantastic week filled with fun activities including visiting Strong National Museum of Play, seeing a movie, spending an afternoon at the beach, walking with the whitetail deer, visiting Lollypop Farm, and spending today at Seabreeze Amusement Park. Check out our website, www.campgooddays.org and facebook, www.facebook.com/CampGoodDays79 for photos coming soon!
Tonight, Thalia Hayden, a reporter with NEWS10NBC will be interviewing me, as she called me this afternoon to see if she could talk with me about the recent research and treatment results from the University of Pennsylvania regarding cancer and specifically leukemia.
Tomorrow we will have a Staff Meeting as we have a variety of activities and events that are taking place this weekend. Tomorrow evening some of our staff and Cancer Mission 2020 College Campus Advocates will be attending the Rochester Red Wings’ doubleheader at Frontier Field where we will have a table to share information and materials about our many programs and services, as well as have the CANCER MISSION 2020 Petitions for game attendees to sign.
This weekend, from Friday afternoon through Sunday morning, we will host a special group of participants from School of the Holy Childhood at the Recreational Facility. Camp Good Days has enjoyed a long and mutually beneficial relationship with School of the Holy Childhood over the years, as they allow us to hold our sessions for the Kids Adjusting Through Support (KATS) Coping Support Groups at their school and in turn, we provide them with the opportunity to bring some of their participants to Camp Good Days to enjoy a fun weekend!
On Saturday and Sunday, some of our staff and volunteers will head out to Ontario Beach State Park for the Soccer in the Sand Tournament, coordinated by Scott Vallow, former Goalkeeper for the Rochester Rhinos, current Goalkeeper Coach for the Western New York Flash, and longtime supporter of the children at Camp Good Days. Proceeds from the Soccer in the Sand Tournament benefit the children and families we serve and we are so pleased that not only has Scott selected Camp Good Days as the beneficiary again this year, but that the event has grown and expanded and is now a two-day tournament!
Speaking of soccer, we will also have some staff and volunteers at our Quarters for Cancer table at Sahlen’s Stadium for the last regular season home game for the Rochester Rhinos on Saturday night and for the Western New York Flash home game on Sunday night. Bill Sedgewick, Assistant Coach with the Rochester Rhinos selected Camp Good Days again this season to be the beneficiary of his Quarters for Cancer promotion and we are so thankful for his support and for giving us the opportunity to be a part of all the Rochester Rhinos and Western New York Flash home games and share Camp Good Days with all of the fans, while at the same time raising some of the much needed funds to support our programs and services.
On Saturday evening, we will also be a part of Stack Your Rack, which is a casual and fun event held at Cobblestone Creek Country Club in Victor. Each attendee brings two bottles of wine, one to share as part of the wine tasting and one that is stored in a beautiful wine cooler. The full wine cooler then becomes one of our live auction items for the Finger Lakes International Wine Auction Dinner, held each May. In addition to the wine tasting, guests will have the chance to bid on silent auction items and enjoy some great food, an evening with old and new friends, and know that they are helping us to provide some good days and special times for our campers.
This coming Monday, we head to Syracuse for the first CANCER MISSION 2020 Congressional District Cancer Summit, which we are hosting with Congresswoman Ann Marie Buerkle, Representative for New York’s 25th District. We have had a great response to this Cancer Summit and I am very much looking forward to hearing from our Keynote Speaker, Dr. Stephen Edge of Roswell Park Cancer Institute and member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Executive Committee, as well as meeting all of the attendees.
Next Thursday, we head to Buffalo for the 28th Congressional District Cancer Summit with Congresswoman Louise Slaughter and Keynote Speaker, Dr. Leslie Kohman, Distinguished Service Professor, Medical Director of Surgery, and Medical Director, Upstate Cancer Center at Upstate University Hospital.
The 29th Congressional District Cancer Summit with Congressman Tom Reed and Keynote Speaker, Candace Johnson, PhD, Deputy Director, Chair, Pharmacology and Therapeutics and Wallace Chair in Translational Research at Roswell Park Cancer Institute, will take place on Thursday, August 25, 2011 at the Camp Good Days’ Recreational Facility.
PLEASE – If you have not done so already, check out www.cancermission2020.com and join us in this important initiative to end cancer by the end of the decade by signing the CANCER MISSION 2020 Petition. All of the information about our Congressional District Cancer Summits is also available on the website and stay tuned next week for photos and updates from the Cancer Summits taking place in Syracuse and Buffalo.
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