VASHON, Wash. — With summer right around the corner, a lot of families are looking forward to summer camps for kids. It's a tradition for so many that offers a chance for campers to learn new things, make new friends, and just have fun being a kid.
But for families impacted by a pediatric cancer diagnosis, the ability to "just be a kid" is replaced by doctors appointments, hospital visits, and medical procedures.
Camp Goodtimes was created especially for these families, giving kids ages 7-17 a space to feel safe and have fun without any judgment associated with surgery scars, feeding tubes, and the emotional strains of cancer. A chance to just be a kid for a week without being labeled a "cancer kid."
The summer camps on Vashon Island are just a piece of the bigger project. The Goodtimes Project is the nonprofit behind the camp offering year-round programming for the whole family. The project offers programs for cancer patients on active treatment, along with survivors, siblings, and bereaved siblings from both Washington state and Alaska.
Some of the programs offering opportunities for kids and young adults ages 5-25 include:
- A Kayak Camp for young adult survivors.
- Mini-Camp for kids ages 5-7.
- Ski Camp for siblings.
- You & Me Retreat for one parent and one child.
Programs and camps are free to attend. The Goodtimes Project is a local, independent non-profit unaffiliated with any national organization making community support essential to keeping it that way.
All 150 camp counselors hired each year are volunteering their time, and the organization only keeps four paid employees on staff.
Here are some ways you can help:
- The Goodtimes Project has an Amazon Wish List that contains things that are needed to give campers a great experience: Click here to donate.
- Use Amazon Smile and choose The Goodtimes Project as your charity of choice.
Share the camp opportunity with families you know who have been affected by childhood cancer. Although the camp is full this year, applications for the 2020 sessions will go live in February.
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