IT’S THE GREATEST! : An Uncommon Camp Is Pitched on Common Ground for Oncology Patients and Their Families
Fitting in is a big deal to kids. And, although as parents we may chide them for conforming (“If Jason jumped off a cliff, would you do it, too?”), most of us can’t deny the 10-year-old inside who yearns to be part of the crowd.
Think back to summer camp. Packing sleeping bag, canteen and a duffel bagful of apprehension, we fretted not over bee stings and sunburns, but over the fear of being shunned by fellow campers.
For a child who is “different” because of serious illness or disability, a summer camp that wraps the usual lineup of crafts and campfires in an environment of support and acceptance must sound pretty darned good. In fact, it may even sound like the World’s Greatest Camp.
The members of the Orange County Foundation for Oncology Children and Families (OCF) think so. Ten years ago, on the shore of Bluff Lake outside Big Bear City, the group founded the World’s Greatest Camp, offering two summer sessions of camping and camaraderie to young cancer patients, their siblings and parents. The World’s Greatest Camp, held this year on June 12 to 14 and Sept. 4 to 6, is underwritten by private donations and is offered free to all participants.
According to OCF president Linda Fant, the World’s Greatest Camp, which is operated by the Pasadena YMCA, features a full complement of outdoor activities, ranging from archery, target-shooting and horseback riding to swimming and canoeing, plus arts and crafts, games and campfires. More than 200 participants attended the June session.
From the start, children and adults get their own space at the World’s Greatest Camp, said Fant. Kids depart from Children’s Hospital of Orange County aboard luxury buses complete with videos, while parents car-pool. Once at the site, campers ages 5 and over “rough it” in woodsy cabins supervised by two or more counselors (to boost cabin loyalty, each group comes up with its own theme, which they celebrate in an original ditty that they sing before each meal, said Fant). Preschoolers and younger share separate, slightly cushier facilities with their parents.
Group activities include a Friday night sing-along and a special ceremony on Saturday called the Pine Cone Dedication.
“Each family member has a stick or pine cone that they dedicate to somebody they love or somebody they have lost. It gets rather teary-eyed,” explained Fant. Later that night, adults take part in their own round-table discussion, ice cream social and dance that “gives us a chance to talk about what we’re going through with our children’s disease (and) to just let our hair down and relax,” added Fant, who has attended the camps since 1990, the year her son Trevor’s cancer was diagnosed.
The idea, said Fant, is to create an environment that recognizes the emotional needs of the whole family.
“It’s to keep the support going for the whole family,” she noted. “The sibling can hurt just as much as the patient.”
Because cancer is the common denominator, the World’s Greatest Camp gives campers a chance to let go of their inhibitions, noted Kevin Criddle, a member of OCF’s auxiliary board who coordinates the camp’s 40 volunteer counselors. (Camp staff also includes several nurses from Kaiser and CHOC.)
“Everybody who goes to this camp is familiar with the fingerprints of cancer (like) hair falling out (and) catheters,” said Criddle. “When it’s time to go swimming, artificial legs come off and nobody cares.
“It’s just no big deal.”
What: The World’s Greatest Camp (sponsored by the Orange County Foundation for Oncology Children and Families).
When: Next session is Sept. 4 through 6.
Where: Bluff Lake, five miles outside of Big Bear City.
Wherewithal: Free.
Where to call: (714) 827-1932, preregistration is required. (Note: The American Camping Assn., Southern California Section, offers information on a variety of camps for children with and without disabilities. Its Long Beach office: (310) 985-5781.)