Friends of Oochigeas A camp supporting children affected by childhood cancer Issue 1
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Volume 19 •
Winter 2014
“Camp Ooch is a place where I forget about my cancer,” Ooch Camper
Camp Oochigeas is a privately funded, volunteer-based organization that provides kids with cancer and kids affected by childhood cancer with unique opportunities for growth through challenging, fun, enriching and magical experiences. Camp Oochigeas, 464 Bathurst Street, Toronto, ON M5T 2S6 t: 416.961.6624 f: 416.961.2267 e: oochigeas@ooch.org ooch.org | facebook.com/campooch | @campooch
The printing of this newsletter was generously donated by RR Donnelley
In-Hospital Program
As shared by Shaindy Alexander, Certified Child Life Specialist at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids). A few weeks ago I walked into the 8A playroom at SickKids and I must say I got a little emotional at what I saw. Camp Oochigeas (Ooch) was leading a Tot Circle, singing songs, blowing bubbles, playing parachute (with a hospital sheet) making the space into what seemed for that moment a normal community playgroup for infants and tots. While I watched in wonder, I saw two and three-year-old patients laughing and singing. IV poles, hospital sounds and medical staff seemed to fade into the background and the hospital environment magically slipped away. Joy, friendship and fun echoed in every word they spoke, every chorus they sang and evey game that they played. It was delightful, heart-warming and fun! Camp Ooch does a wonderful job helping to make spaces and programs for kids to focus on just that - being a kid. Thanks Camp Ooch for everything you do!
Ooch’s new Tot’s program serves patients staying at SickKids ages of 0 - 3
Ooch Downtown
OOCH DOWNTOWN
FAMILY EVENTS
Bowling, Campathons, canoe trips, Dinner and a Movie, Halloween Howl and a Brigantine Sailing Trip are just a few of the exciting programs happening at Ooch Downtown this season. Laughter and learning are priorities as campers reunite with their summer cabinmates and counsellors or attend their first ever Ooch event. Offering fun and dynamic programs keep kids and families engaged with the Ooch community all year long. “Ooch brings hope, a future and makes you forget what’s going on around you and what you’ve been through. It gives you something to look forward to. I can absolutely say that Camp Ooch Brigantine Sailing Trip (New Program) for Camp Ooch IS the social cure for cancer,” Camper Parent Teens & Leadership program (ages 16 - 18).
Ooch in Muskoka
OOCH IN MUSKOKA
This past summer saw a record breaking number of campers participating in Camp programs. With over 450 kids attending residential summer Camp our facilities were functioning at full capacity. Each year we see campers with unique medical needs. Because of generous donors like you, we are able to customize authentic camp experiences for any child with cancer; even those with complex medical, physical and cognitive needs. Ensuring every child experiences the Magic of Ooch.
Other Ways to Get Involved Sporting Life 10K
Personalized Tribute
FUNdraising events
On May 10, 2015 join 30,000 participants as they run down Yonge Street in the Sporting Life 10K. This annual event is a critical source of funding for Camp Ooch. Sign up to fundraise for this event and help us uphold our promise that no child is ever turned away.
Getting married? Celebrating an anniversary or birthday? If you are looking for a creative, impactful way to celebrate someone, this opportunity is for you. Creating a Personal Tribute Page is a great way to mark a special occasion or honour a special person. You can tell you own story, upload your own pictures and collect online donations for Camp Oochigeas. We’ll give you all the tools you need – a customized URL, email tools and more. Website: www.ooch.org/camp/ ways-to-give/celebrations
Community events are a great way to spread awareness about Camp Ooch, raise funds AND have fun with your family and friends. Bake sales, dinner parties, sport tournaments, bowl-a-thons, walk-a-thons...even Polar Bear Dip challenges. If it’s an event and it’s fun, it is a great fit to support Camp Ooch.
$250 sends one kid to Camp for one day. $3500 sends one kid to Camp for two weeks. Website: Registration is now open www.sportinglife10k.ca
Contact: Diana Gourley, Development Officer at: dgourley@ooch.org 416.961.6624 ext. 238
Cancer changes a kid’s life. So does Camp.
the friends l al r Fo ! ng hi yt er ev r fo ough ished over pl m co I can't thank you enThe ac ve ha I at th gs in that I have made. you fothr all the lessons you have taught me e the years. Thank come w ith them. Thank you for making mr and the skills that d making me into who I am. Thank you fo a better person an ess and how to show it to others. show ing me greatn and alw ays ne hi ns su of ll fu et ck po y Thank you for beinegtom run to when I need to be surroundedth, being there for m agement. Thank you for giving me streng a dream. r fo by love and encour ve ri st to e m g in ng le determination, and inchgalme be a kid again when it seemed like Thank you for lette anymore. Thank you for letting me come er I couldn’t be on s to experience everything a kid could evrt here over the yearimportantly thank you for making me a pa experience. Most at makes Camp so special and sacred. Andto of all the magic th sing me to all the magic you have given thank you for expos. me over the year you have ng hi yt er ev h is er ch ill w I I love you Camp Ooch. given to me. the magic again. of rt pa a be to y da e on I w ill return
To read, watch and listen to more great letters from Camp Ooch Campers go to
www.ooch.org/camp/blog
Interview with Dr. Malkin Dr. Malkin is currently a clinician-scientist and paediatric oncologist in the Division of Hematology/Oncology and Director of the Cancer Genetics program at SickKids as well as a Senior Scientist in the Genetics & Genome Biology Program in the SickKids Research Institute. He currently serves as the Camp Ooch Medical Director and has been an active volunteer at Camp Ooch for over 20 years.
Q - What is your role at Camp Ooch? A - Primarily to oversee the medical care of the kids while they’re at Camp. I also oversee the coordination and scheduling of oncologists and fellows from The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) ensuring there is always one of us onsite. This past year for the first time we had an oncologist from London Children’s join us. That’s a big first and a huge plus for Ooch as we continue to expand across the province. Q - What is the connection between Camp, kids and cancer? A - Camp Ooch is extremely important for kids going through a cancer diagnosis. During their therapy they have spent many hours, days and even months at the hospital receiving treatment, having surgery, chemotherapy and they are often very sick during this period. One of the most magical aspects of Camp is that it removes the patient from a hospital environment. Through their experience at Camp, kids with cancer gain their independance, their sense of worth, their sense of value and their sense of what it means to be a kid doing things that normal kids are able to do. Q - What do you notice that is different about your patients when they are at Camp? A - There’s an amazing difference with these kids when they come to Camp. Within hours of getting off the bus as they start into their activities, you see them just open up and make new friendships. They start to really put their cancer diagnosis and their cancer treatment aside during the time they are here. One of the campers, a little girl about six years old, when I was sitting in the arts and crafts shed stood in front of me looking and looking. “You look a lot like Dr. Malkin,” she says. “Well I am Dr. Malkin,” I replied. She looked deeply perplexed, then smiled. It is moments like this that define the Magic of Camp Ooch. Camp opens up protective barriers so that kids with cancer have opportunities to really explore their capabilities. We see this particularly with kids who have
Oncologists like Dr. David Malkin actually “prescribe” Camp Ooch for their patients.
physical disabilites as a result of their treatment.They come back from Camp a completely different kid. Q - What do you envision for Ooch in the future? A - As more and more kids access Camp Ooch we need a better space for these kids to be able to sit and relax while they’re waiting for a blood transfusion or an IV chemo to run through. I would love to see a patio or a veranda on the edge of the Med Shed where kids can sit in a reclining chair, with their IV pole hooked up watching out over the lake to see the activities going on so they can still feel part of the Camp experience. Q - What have you learned from Camp? A - I’ve practiced oncology for over 20 years at SickKids and Ooch is not only therapeutic for our patients, it’s therapeutic for me. I have learned and firmly believe, a hosptial is only part of what it takes to cure a child with cancer.
Thank you
for helping kids with cancer just be kids - All year Long thanks to our Corporate Sponsors:
Magic Sponsors:
Dream Sponsors:
Garron Family Canc er Cenre James Strathy War ren Jamie Scarlett & Family John OffutT & Ja ne Ferguson Hugh & Janice Re nnie Michael & Carol Mu eller
s:
Wish Sponsors:
s to our Personal Spo k n a nso th Andy & Sue Redmon r d
On November 6, 2014 over 600 guests attended ‘An Evening of Winter Dreams’. Thank you to each individual, family, corporate and personal donor who responded to the call and critical need to expand and winter-wonderland-ize our residential campsite in Muskoka. Funds raised at this event will directly support our mission to provide, more Ooch, more often to more kids. If you didn’t have an opportunity to attend please take a moment to experience a snapshot of the evening by visiting www.ooch.org Each year the demand for Ooch programs expands. Currently only 30 per cent of kids with cancer in Ontario have access to camp programs. As the only camp in Canada that can deliver IV chemotherapy and blood transfusions we can customize an authentic camp experience for any child with cancer; even those with complex medical, physical and cognitive needs. For more information on how you or your company can invest in a legacy that will ensure no child with or affected by cancer is ever turned away, please contact Michelle Afinec 416.961.6624 ext. 210 or email mafinec@ooch.org
TONIGHT I WISHED UPON A SHOOTING STAR AND I WISHED THAT... A kid with cancer could go to Camp for 2 weeks
... $3500
A child in active treatment could go to Camp for 1 week ... $1750 A child who feels alone could spend a Weekend at Camp ... $500 A child too sick to travel could attend Day Camp for 1 day ... $250 Friendship and fun would surround a child for half a day ... $125 Beautiful memories and moments were made
... $50
DONATE ONLINE TODAY As a community that believes kids with cancer should be defined by who they are and not what they have, we invite you to fill out the donation form below and help us ensure every child in Ontario has access to the Magic of Ooch. By filling out and returning your donation card to the Camp Oochigeas head office, we will post your personalized tribute (see back of this card) with all other cards received before December 1, 2014. *Please note we will not disclose the monetary value of your donation.
Tonight I wished upon a shooting star and I wished that...
“I wished that every child diagnosed with cancer would have the chance to experience the Magic and beauty of Ooch - just like me,� - Ooch Camper
GivingTuesday is a global day of giving. After the sales of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, GivingTuesday is a time to celebrate and encourage activities that support charities and non profits. This year to celebrate this day, and spread the word about all the great things that happen at Camp Ooch we are asking our community to join in a social media Thunderclap. Thunderclap messages have reached over 1.5 billion people in 236 countries. It’s the world’s first crowdspeaking platform, and over 2 million people have donated their social reach for causes they believe in and causes that matter. Join the Ooch Thunderclap at www.thunderclap.it/projects/17821-acamp-for-kids-with-cancer before December 2, 2014.
When you make a donation, you have the option to send an acknowledgment card or an eCard to someone letting them know you’ve made a gift on their behalf. Click here and Give the Gift of Camp.
Enclosed is my donation: This gift is to honour or celebrate (optional)
$3,500
$125
$_________ Other
$1,750
$50
Name: _________________________________
$25
Address:________________________________
$500
$_________ A monthly gift to be charged to my credit card
$250
*Tax receipts will be provided for donations over $25
_______________________________________ City: ___________________________________ Province: ________ Postal Code:____________
Mr.
Mrs.
Ms.
Other ___________________________________________________
Name: ____________________________________________________________________________________ Address: ___________________________________________________________________________________ City: _________________________ Province: _____________________ Postal Code: __________________ Phone Number: (_____)_________________________ Email:_______________________________________ Visa/MC/Amex #:____________________________________________________ Expiry Date: ____________ Name of Card Holder: _______________________________________________________________________ Note: all donations made through the symbolic giving program contribute to the operating fund rather than to a specific item. Your donation will be used where it is needed most, to help send kids affected by childhood cancer to camp. Please accept my donation but do NOT publicly post my tribute.
Please make cheques payable to: Camp Oochigeas 464 Bathurst Street Toronto, ON M5T 2S6 T: 416.961.6624 F: 416.961.2267 www.ooch.org Charitable Business #13111 6022 RR0001 W17