Camp Rainbow Gold
provides respite for kids
By DANA
DUGAN
Express Staff Writer
Jordan
Arbve, 12, likes "everything mostly" at Camp Rainbow Gold. Of
course, he’s an old timer having been a camper since he was 5 years
old. For Jordan the camp is a very special place, where he can see
friends and be himself. Jordan has leukemia and just those simple
pleasures are everything to him. Even his siblings get a little jealous
when he leaves his home in Eagle to spend a week in the camp at
Cathedral Pines, north of Ketchum.
During the Rainbow Gold Camp talent
show, above, Derek Parry, 15, from Idaho Falls plays drums with Hailey resident George
Linev, 17, on
guitar. Express
photo by Willy Cook
The
unofficial motto of Camp Rainbow Gold is "Give us a week, we can
change your life." The camp is held annually for children who have
been diagnosed with cancer.
It began
in 1984 as one of the first children’s oncology camps in the United
State. It’s run by Idaho’s American Cancer Society chapter in
conjunction with Boise’s Mountain States Tumor Institute and managed
by Sharon Buckle.
The camp
hosted 67 campers last week between the ages of 6 and 17. They were
supervised by 60 trained volunteers, including Counselors in Training,
many of whom are older kids who were campers. Among the staff are
nurses, physicians and art teachers.
Although
they may ordinarily travel to Salt Lake City or Spokane for their
treatments, about 95 percent of the campers come from Idaho and a few
from eastern Oregon, Buckle said. Many of the Idaho residents are
patients at Mountain States Tumor Institute.
Belting out a Bryan Adams tune, below, during the talent show is Cassandra McKinney from Nampa. With her is a camp counselor Tim
Welch. Express photo by Willy Cook
Because
the camp is free of charge to the campers, including transportation to
and from Cathedral Pines, the program has to raise $50,000 a year
through fund-raisers and donations, Buckle said.
Earlier
this year, Hailey’s Red Elephant Saloon spearheaded a Wood River
Valley benefit that ended up raising $20,000 for the camp, including a
generous matching donation, she said.
The owner
of the Red Elephant, Rob Cronin, who is a cancer survivor, took the last
week off from his regular day job of running both his restaurants—the
other is Zhou 75—to work exclusively with the campers. A camp
full-time committee member, Cronin is the special events coordinator,
organizes the motorcycle escort ride, and barbecues and helps with other
meals daily while the camp is in session.
"When
people commit, they do it for the whole week," Buckle said.
Among the
activities that are arranged for the kids are an art studio under a tent
with a special art therapist on hand, river rafting, dances, theme
nights, hiking, fishing and mountain biking.
One day
the group went to Penny Lake, west of Ketchum, and set a camp record by
catching 73 trout. That evening, at a visitor’s barbecue following the
talent show, the fish were grilled and served by Cronin.
Nampa
resident Emmalee Wesche, 12, caught eight fish she said proudly.
Her
friend Denai Salazar, 13, from Caldwell, said she likes the campfires
the best. "It’s awesome. We tell jokes and stories."
Camp counselor Jamie
Rivetts, left, sits with 6-year-old camper Nikki Kontaxis, of Ketchum, and Craig
Delagardelle, another counselor. Nikki suffers from a brain tumor. His mother said he was “having the time of his life,” while at Camp Rainbow Gold.
Express photo by Willy Cook
Many of
these kids have been reuniting at the camp annually. It’s a place they
can be themselves, and not feel different, fragile or feel shunned by
people who don’t understand their situations.
"People
here just accept what you’re going through," Erica Snoey said.
Though she admitted to still learning some of the medical jargon for
others’ particular cancers.
Snoey,
12, is a mountain bike enthusiast. There are several bikes and helmets
at the kid’s disposal. Buckles said they were a donation from a woman
in Jerome.
"I
went on TV and said we needed small bikes. A mother of a previous camper
who had passed away, got them all donated. We now have eight smaller
mountain bikes."
Among the
contributors locally to the week at the camp were South Valley Pizzeria,
Albertson’s and Davis Embroidery, who donates all the hats and
T-shirts.
Alyssa
Bowers, 14, is no longer an Idaho resident but she was allowed to come
to the camp again anyway. She has been a camper at Rainbow Gold for 10
years. Looking healthy and happy, she beamed when Buckle told her she
could be a Counselor in Training someday.
For
Bowers and the other, kids the camp is an ideal family that’s
supportive, caring and fun.