- CAMPKESEM.ORG/STONYBROOK - CAMP SEASON! Updates Spots for Camp 2015 are filling quickly, with 81 registered campers out of 100! Help us in our #SearchFor100! Over $80,000 dollars has been raised, more than half way to our goal of $100,000! Inside Camp Kesem Serves the Community pg. 2 Recent Events pg. 3 Parents Corner & Reunion pg. 4 Letter from our Board pg. 5 New Coordinator Board pg. 6 Camp Kesem for Summer of 2015 is coming soon! As the 2014-2015 school year is coming to a close many of our counselors are excited to see our new and returning campers at camp this June. We have been working all year to plan all the fun activities for summer and can t wait for a life changing week. Countdown to Camp 2015 Camp Linwood MacDonald Sandyston, New Jersey June 27th to July 3rd
SPRING 2015 SUMMER 2015 Camp Kesem Serves The Community! All Camp Kesem units have been engaging in community service projects throughout the year to better serve local causes. Here we would like to share a few of our projects! Mighty Minotaurs Save the Animals Rescue On April 11th, The Mighty Minotaurs, serving campers aged 9-11, went to the Save The Animals Rescue shelter, which helps animals that are unable to survive on their own. There was an abundance of animals there including owls, lizards, goats, turkey s, and even a wolf. The Minotaurs had the pleasure of helping the facility rake leaves and clean up the yard which was a fun bonding experience for the unit. The Pegasus Posse at Save-A-Pet On April 4th, The Pegasus Posse, serving campers aged 14-16, visited the Save-A-Pet animal shelter to help clean cages and feed homeless cats. It was a fun and educational trip for the unit. Not only were they helping many cats without homes, but they also learned about some of the differences between rescue animals and animals one might buy at a pet store. Once finished with the cats, the unit was given a tour of the facility and educated on the mission of Save-A-Pet. 2
Recent Events Kesem Week (March 30th - April 3rd) Kesem Week was held again for the second time during the 2014-2015 academic year. Kesem week is a time to spread the name and mission of Camp Kesem. Kesem week this semester focused around major fundraising drives to raise money for Camp 2015. Events included The Magic Number, where students would guess the number of candies in a jar. We also hosted a Buy One, Give One drive for selling t-shirts; if a student purchased a t-shirt another would be donated to a child at camp. The week ended off with an Informational day to encourage students to apply to become a Camp Kesem Coordinator for the new school year. Counselor Trainings All counselors for Camp 2015 are now trained! Counselors have completed 40 hours of training along with Expert Online Training to ensure preparation for different situations they may experience at camp. Development Bake Sales Throughout the semester our Development team has held bake sales to fundraise for camp and allow opportunities for our counselors to raise money to meet their $500 goal. The Monument Quilt Project (April 3rd) Camp Kesem designed a quilt square which will be mailed and stitched together to spell the words Not Alone in Washington DC. The Monument Quilt Project is an ongoing campaign to collect stories from survivors of rape and abuse. Delete Blood Cancer (May 8th) Camp Kesem Stony Brook student volunteers came together on May 8th to run a bone marrow drive on campus in partnership with Delete Blood Cancer. 29 students were swabbed and registered as bone marrow donors in hopes of matching a donor with a cancer patient. Delete Blood Cancer is a national organization that was created to inspire as many people as possible to register as bone marrow donors. 3
Parents Corner A Tale of Grecian Heroes Camp dates are June 27th - July 3rd and the theme is Kesem: A Tale of Young Grecian Heroes! This will encompass elements of Greek mythology, so consider sitting down with your young hero and brushing up on a bit of history! Health Forms Keep an eye out!: As camp swiftly approaches, we ask that you keep an eye out for information from our Operations Team! We will be sending contact information for the administrative team and professional staff, along with the camper packing list so you know what to pack! All children attending camp MUST have a health form on record with us. If you have yet to hand in your child s health form, please do so ASAP. Spring Reunion On April 25th, a beautiful Saturday afternoon, CKSB held its first Spring Reunion at Eisenhower Park in East Meadow, NY. Campers, families, and counselors gathered for a picnic-style lunch followed by games and activities. Lunch included pizza and pasta along with snacks and desserts such as chips, "mud" pudding, cookies, muffins, and s'mores!! We all had a blast designing nametags, playing frisbee, participating in relay races, and playing kickball. This reunion was a fun and memorable one that we hope all our campers and families enjoyed! 4
A Message from Bear and Chip! To the Camp Kesem Stony Brook Community, It is truly bittersweet as we near the end of our time as leaders of Camp Kesem Stony Brook. We were both involved in the founding of this chapter in the Spring of 2013 and remain forever grateful to the Livestrong Foundation for their support. It is nearly impossible to thank all of those for which we owe our undying thanks. But, there are several individuals we simply must acknowledge. Our thanks and love go out to Mr. Tobin "Teddy" George, a founder and former Director of CKSB. Through Teddy's leadership and devotion CKSB became the largest first year chapter in history, serving an unprecedented 52 campers. We also send our gratitude and all of the warm fuzzies to Cortney "Jazz" Lebeda, our Program Director. Jazz began her role as a program director during our inaugural year. Together we learned and grew to be the Directors we are today. Finally, we'd like to thank Ms. Linda "Lalaloopsy" Bily, a member of our Advisory Board and a founder of CKSB. Lalaloopsy first discovered Camp Kesem National and knew the program belonged in Stony Brook; we couldn't have agreed more. Smiling through the tears, we cannot thank you all enough for being a part of this journey. Camp Kesem Stony Brook would not be where it is today without all the support of our student leaders helping us along the way. We can both say that Camp Kesem has given us much more than we ever expected and are excited to see what the future holds. We love you all. Warm Fuzzies, Bear & Chip A Message from Swift and Kai! Greetings, We hope this message finds you well and are enjoying the year. All of us at Camp Kesem Stony Brook have been counting down the days until Camp 2015 and we hope you are all as excited as we are. Serving as your marketing and public relations coordinators has been a great honor this year, working for such a great cause. From drafting newsletters to managing all of our social media platforms, we have enjoyed every part of our roles and love all the great engagement we receive from the community. We both Kesem in order to create change and have as much an impact on these children as possible. As part of our marketing and public relations role, we have strived to continuously network and create new ways for more people to learn about the mission of Camp Kesem and set the groundwork for the future of our chapter. Warm Fuzzies, Swift and Kai 5
Camper Application Update Applications for new campers are still open, and will be considered on a first-come, first-serve basis. 81 out of 100 spots have been filled! Over $80,000 has been raised by Camp Kesem Stony Brook Would you like to help Camp Kesem Stony Brook reach our $100,000 fundraising goal this year? Visit Campkesem.org/stonybrook/donate for more information! Introducing The New Coordinator Board for the 2015-2016 School Year! Directors: Gouri Sadananda Cyril Danielkutty Community Outreach: Sarika Hara David Ogunlowo Development: Abhishek Parekh Mie Higuchi Karis Tutuska Make the Magic: Mark Berenshteyn Steven Morel Marketing & Public Relations: Hiral Kadakia Matthew Marciano Operations: Rachit Bhatt Victoria Ly Teen / CIT Program: Christina Ortiz Volunteer: Sean Frasca Page Keating Contact & Follow CKSB on: CampKesem.org/StonyBrook CampKesemSB StonyBrook@CampKesem.org