Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Camp Rainbow Gold goes year-round


By DANA DUGAN
Express Staff Writer

There is change afoot for one of the region's long-standing non-profit organizations. Usually, Camp Rainbow Gold, established for Idaho children with cancer, occurs for a week each August. It's held at Cathedral Pines, 14 miles north of Ketchum. But for the camp's 25th anniversary in 2009, it will shift into a year-round operation. Some events such as the sibling and family camps have already been inaugurated, but with the increase in demand even more ideas are becoming realities.

Administered by the American Cancer Society, Camp Rainbow Gold was established in 1984 with a grant, and led by Twin Falls oncologist Dr. Dave McClusky. The free camp has a full medical staff and licensed social workers to ensure the children are supported both medically and emotionally.

"One of the big things coming in 2010 is two camps," said the camp's childhood and family services director, Elizabeth Lizberg. "We're really serving a small percentage in Idaho diagnosed with cancer. We want to reach more, so we're adding another week of camp. The first week will be younger kids and junior counselors and the next week will be ages 13 through 17. This year we had 85 campers. In 2010 there will be about 60 at each camp."

And that is only accounting for the kids. Volunteers and staff, who often stay in trailers, aren't included in those numbers.

"We're bursting at the seams," camp board member Kris Cronin said.

Reasons other than space cited for this development include the physical and emotional differences in age.

Some of the older campers have permanent physical and mental disabilities because of their cancer. These young adults, most in their twenties, come as volunteers, but that's "harder to do with the space issues," Lizberg said.

"We want to continue doing that for them but they'll have a more appropriate role in the older camp. Also, some of the older kids are a little bored with young programs and the younger kids are overly challenged by some of the other activities."

In Boise, some of these young adults have taken things into their own hands by starting a Survivors Support Group, to replace one the Mountain States Tumor used to hold. They meet weekly at Camp Rainbow Gold's offices with social workers Sally Tarowsky and Marisa Pierce.

"It's survivors helping survivors," part-time camp Director Rob Cronin said. "They are moving on and taking on larger roles. It's awe inspiring."

Kris and Rob Cronin became involved in the camp some 10 years ago.

"Mary Ann Mix introduced us to Ted Challenger after we moved back to re-open the Red Elephant (in Hailey)," said Rob Cronin, who rotates with Challenger as the camp director every two years. "The week we moved we opened the Mountain Express and saw a story on the camp. We had a little fundraiser and met him there. He said right then 'I want to ask you to be on the board.' We said 'OK.' We hadn't been to the camp or met the kids."

That year the camp was in the red. Now it has an endowment, a two-year-old college scholarship program that this year provided 12 former campers with $5,000 each, and a host of other activities.

Camp Rainbow Gold Program Director Heather Hammond this fall hosted a Halloween bash for 120 people at the camp's offices. On Dec. 19, there will be a Camp Rainbow Gold night with Idaho Steelheads at Qwest Arena in Boise. Campers will be in Sun Valley for a Sun Valley Suns game on Jan. 9, and a family ski day with Sun Valley Adaptive Sports will be Feb. 7. On Feb. 28, the seventh annual Share Your Heart Ball will be held in Sun Valley. It will include a retrospective of the past 25 years of the camp. This will be the first year that Camp Rainbow Gold is the sole beneficiary of the proceeds raised at the ball, and will have its first super title sponsor, the John F. Nagel Foundation out of Boise.

Hammond is also planning a bowling event in Twin Falls on March 21 to help with outreach in the Magic Valley.

Another bonus this winter is the raffle for a Superbowl XLIII package for two, including flights, accommodations and tickets to the game in Tampa, Fla. The tickets are available now at Zou 75 in Hailey, or camprainbowgold.org. The drawing will be on Dec. 31.

All of these year-round events took shape at the insistence of the campers.

"The kids wanted to see their camp friends during the school year," Lizberg said. "It's also a good way for parents to connect with each other. Also because we've stretched out so much, people use us as a referral. We work with national organizations like Super Sibs, Courageous Cancer Kids and the Leukemia-Lymphoma Society.

"But we couldn't have done this without this valley," Kris Cronin said. "It really is a charity of the valley."

Rob Cronin agrees.

"This is a feather in the cap of the Wood River Valley," he said. "There has been a fair amount of state, regional and national attention through the camp."




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