October 13, 2011

Happy New Year to all of us here at Camp Good Days! As I noted in my last posting, our fiscal year came to a close on September 30, 2011, so we are now in the beginning weeks of our 2011-2012 Fiscal Year. We have many things going on, being planned, discussed and reviewed.

We held our semi-annual Staff Retreat last Thursday. We do these Staff Retreats twice a year, one in the Spring before Camp officially opens for the summer and one in the Fall and we end one Fiscal Year and begin a new one. We all came together and spent the day reviewing and reflecting on the past year – our programs and services, our special fundraising events, our recruitment and outreach efforts for new volunteers and program participants, and our exposure and awareness throughout the communities we serve. We also discussed our plans for the coming year in regards to what we think we want to continue offering, what things might need to be changed or reevaluated, and some new ideas for fulfilling our mission to improve the quality of life for children, adults and families whose lives have been touched by cancer. In addition, we took some time to hear from Mark Kreydt from Tompkins Insurance Agencies and Jared Lusk from the Nixon Peabody Law Firm to learn more and gain a better understanding of some of the current and relevant concerns and challenges we face as an organization in regards to insurance and legal issues. Overall the Staff Retreat was very informative and productive for all of us and will help enable us to continue making a difference in the lives of those we serve, doing so in the safest and most efficient and effective ways possible.

We hosted our final session of the Women’s Oncology Programs for the 2011 season this past weekend at the Recreational Facility. Approximately 50 women who are all dealing with cancer had the opportunity to spend a fun-filled, supportive weekend at Camp Good Days, in the company of those who can truly understand what they are going through as a woman dealing with cancer – other women with cancer. We were blessed with some beautiful weather and the women had a fantastic time at the many activities available throughout the weekend. Special thanks goes out to all of the volunteers who gave so much of their time, talent and love to make this weekend memorable for these women!

Unfortunately, I personally was not able to attend the Women’s Oncology Program as I was in Ithaca for the St. John Fisher College Football game. For those of you who have been following this blog, we came out victorious two weekends ago against longtime rival, Alfred, after a tough loss to Hobart the week before, and I am pleased to report that although it came down to the wire and wasn’t the prettiest game to watch, we were triumphant against Ithaca! With this win we are now in a position to really make a run for the Empire 8 Conference Championship. This Saturday we take on Frostburg at home at 12Noon, so again, keep your fingers crossed that we walk away with another one in the win column!

Back to Camp Good Days…and our new Fiscal Year…as we lay the groundwork and plans for the coming weeks and months, a key part of that process is our Board of Directors who help us to fulfill our mission and serve to provide guidance and direction for our long-term strategic plans. We are looking forward to our next Board of Director’s Meeting this coming Tuesday, October 18, 2011 and to getting to work with all of the Board Members on how they can best help us to continue fulfilling our mission and vision.

Also coming up soon is the Annual Joe Benet Memorial Kazoo Fest! I am so pleased that here in the Rochester community, our local JC Penney Store Managers at Eastview Mall, Greece Ridge Center Mall, and Marketplace Mall have generously and graciously agreed to allow us to hold the Kazoo Fest at the mall entrances to their stores. Their continued support for this important annual fundraising event is beyond measure and so much appreciated! We are also excited that we will once again have the Kazoo Fest at the Walden-Galleria Mall in Buffalo; the Carousel Mall in Syracuse; and the Shops at Ithaca. This year’s Kazoo Fest will kick off on Friday, November 25, 2011 and go through Friday, December 23, 2011. The Kazoo Fest has become a great Holiday tradition in all of these communities and provides us with a fantastic opportunity to be out in the community during the busy shopping season to share all of our programs and services with potential participants and volunteers and to raise some of the much needed funds that are necessary for us to be able to continue offering our programs and services free of charge.

We need HUNDREDS OF VOLUNTEERS to help make the Kazoo Fest a success! We only ask for people to commit a few hours (or as many as they would like) and volunteers can choose their preferred location, date and shift. If you or someone you know is interested in helping out with this fun and important fundraising event, please contact your local Camp Good Days’ Office for more details (Rochester: 585-624-5555; Buffalo: 716-206-0709; Syracuse: 315-434-9477; Ithaca: 607-266-9180).

Another exciting event is the upcoming World’s Largest Disco, put on by Conesus Fest for Charity, which will be held on Saturday, November 26, 2011 at the Buffalo Convention Center from 9:00 PM – 1:00 AM. This year’s event is SOLD OUT, as it is every year and those who are fortunate enough to attend always rave about what a fabulous time they have. Proceeds from this amazing event benefit the children and families at Camp Good Days. For more information and to see some great photos, the history and to learn how to be a part of the World’s Largest Disco in the future, check out www.worldslargestdisco.com.

We are continuing to work and move forward with CANCER MISSION 2020…THE END OF CANCER BY THE END OF THE DECADE. Taking the information, suggestions, ideas, discussions, and comments that came out of the Congressional District Cancer Summits held in August, we are putting together an Update / Report / Newsletter, highlighting what took place and where we are headed. We are also setting up a meeting with representatives from the district offices of Congresswoman Louise Slaughter, Congressman Tom Reed, Congresswoman Ann Marie Buerkle, Congresswoman Kathy Hochul and Congressman Richard Hanna in order to identify some of the items from the Cancer Summits that can be developed into actual legislation, as well as a statement to be read, jointly, by these representatives, into the official Congressional Record. We are also working on developing some new media concepts and staying in touch with our College Campus Advocates. We will keep you posted on these plans and please, check out www.cancermission2020.com, join us and thousands of others by signing the petition, and share the site, information and petition with your network of contacts.

Last, but certainly not least, we would like to offer our heartfelt CONGRATULATIONS to Lisa Donato, our Regional Director in our Buffalo Office on her recent engagement! We wish Lisa and Jonathan a long life together filled with good health, happiness and much, much love!