Some things are simply
better together.
Sunshine and lau
Music and art.
Sports and waterpla
Exploration and disco
Barrier-Free Camping
Camp North Star Reach will service
sick kids for free.
Stacy Gittleman
Special to the Jewish News
I
n 2015, 1,500 children with seri-
ous life-threatening and chronic
illnesses throughout the Great Lakes
region will hear words of normalcy they
have only dreamed: "You're going to sleep-
away camp!" Their parents will also hear
these unexpected words: "This sleep-away
camp is free'
Slated to open in the summer of 2015,
Camp North Star Reach, a 501(c) 3 non-
profit organization, will offer the rare
opportunity of providing a free overnight
camp experience in Pinckney, Mich.,
for hundreds of sick children at a place
designed especially for their needs.
"While the kids are having fun, the
medical professionals at the camp see
the summer vacation as an extension of
their hospital and post-hospital care and
healing," said Marketing Specialist Marji
Wisniewski. "Kids build camaraderie
around a shared illness. They are learning
how to care for themselves and manage
their illness with the support of staff and
other campers who are going through
similar experiences7
The 105-acre camp under construc-
tion is a provisional member of the
SeriousFun Children's Network According
to Wisniewski, the camp offers all the
sporting, waterfront and arts and crafts of
a rustic summer camp. The big difference
is that all amenities will be "barrier free
and on the premises will be an extensive
health center fully staffed by medical pro-
fessionals.
"Narrow doorways, unpaved trails
and pools with no obvious point of entry
where other camping programs are held
can make a kid in a wheelchair feel pretty
alienated:' Wisniewski said. "Camp North
Star Reach is an extension of their care
and will play a big role in their healing:'
To create an environment of inclusive-
ness, all structures — including the cab-
ins, dining hall and bonfire — are built at
ground level, thus eliminating the need for
ramps. The camp will also ease the social
isolation experienced by parents and fami-
lies of seriously ill children through year-
round family camp programs.
According to a 2008 study, there is a
great need for such a camp. More than
75,000 children in the Great Lakes region
with serious and life-threatening illnesses
will be eligible to attend North Star Reach.
Currently, less than 10 percent of these
Cam Funtabulous
Sheri Mark, North Star Reach former
board chair, and Gwen Haggerty-
Bearden, president of the Von
Voiglander Foundation and North
Star Reach founding donor, pose with
a camp chaperone and Camp on the
Move campers.
children have an opportunity to experi-
ence summer camp. Working closely
with the recommendations of 13 regional
hospitals, North Star Reach will treat
up to 120 children per week to summer
fun. Camper to staff and volunteer ratios
will be set as high as 1:1, according to
Wisniewski.
The opening of the camp is made pos-
sible in part by a generous $5 million
grant from the Vera and Joseph Dresner
Foundation. Among the Dresners' many
passions was supporting opportunities for
youth. The camp is in the midst of a $26.2
million capital campaign.
In addition to large donors like the
Dresner Foundation, smaller, younger
donors are also stepping up to a cause very
close to their heart. When Jared Katzen,
13, was 3 months old, he underwent heart
surgery at the University of Michigan's C.S.
Mott Children's Hospital. Now a healthy
teenage athlete who spends his summers
at Camp George in Canada, Katzen dedi-
cated his bar mitzvah project to collecting
sports equipment and raising other funds
for Camp North Star Reach in the months
leading up to his November 2013 mile-
stone.
Through summer lemonade sales at
Brotherhood softball league games and
donations made by family and friends,
Katzen raised $1,200 for the camp to
buy height-adjustable basketball hoops.
Additionally, Katzen's party featured
centerpieces made from new sports
equipment, which were also donated to
the camp.
"I love camp so much that I wanted
to give other kids — especially kids who
have had heart surgery — a chance to
go to an overnight camp:' said Katzen, a
seventh-grader at Clifford Smart Middle
School in West Bloomfield. ❑
Like summer and sidewalk chalk, experience why
the above are better together at Hillel's
. ter Cam for campers 2-5 years old.
For more information, contact Robin Pappas,
Director of the Early Childhood Center, at
248-539-1489 or rpappas@hillelday.org.
*1
I
HILLEL
DAY SCHOOL
EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER
Three Rivers, MI
www.camptavor.org
224-619-5969
registrar@camptavor.org
I
At Camp Tavor children build strong
relationships while learning about Israel, social
justice, and stewarding the environment.
Join us to learn about a one-of-
kind Jewish Summer Camp.
4
SA
Camp Tavor offers a 5-day camp option
for 3rd —5th graders. As well as 2-, 3-, 4-
week sessions for campers in grades
3-10.
First-time campers may be eligible for
up to $1000 off of camp tuition.
"The values that are lived daily are
outstanding and the children have a
wonderful summer in so many ways."-
March 8: Metro Detroit
Community Havdalah
Celebration
Email registrar@camptavor.org for
details.
March 9: Camp Information
Meeting
Congregation Shir Tivkah,
3900 Northfield Parkway, Troy, Michigan
10:00 am
Camp Parent
February 6 • 2014
27