30 September 2008
Hole-in-the-Wall Camps for Sick Kids
Posted by admin under: camps .
While not strictly a Scout story, this notice from the American Camping Association caught my eye because it shares the outdoor ideals of Scouting with kids who have life-threatening illnesses. The ACA paid tribute to the recent passing of actor Paul Newman.
Paul Newman, eighty-three, one of the most warmly admired and universally loved figures in motion pictures and philanthropy, died Friday after a long battle with cancer at his farmhouse home near Westport, Connecticut.
It is said that Newman derived his deepest satisfaction privately, from his quiet work in philanthropy. Particularly close to his heart were the “Hole-in-the-Wall Camps” for children with life-threatening health conditions. One day, over twenty years ago, while sitting in a rowboat on a little woodland lake, then full of snapping turtles, and surrounded by the Connecticut woods, he envisioned an old Western town like the one in “Butch Cassidy” stretched along the shore. But its facades would hide not only “roughing it” accommodations for children who would come for two weeks, strictly for summer fun, but all the modern equipment that health emergencies might require, and a top cadre of medical personnel in western costume. Today there is an Association of such camps – eleven member camps around the world, all on different themes, in Connecticut, New York, Florida, California, North Carolina, Ireland, United Kingdom, Hungary, France, Italy and Israel – with additional programs in Africa and Vietnam. Over 135,000 children have attended a Hole-in-the-Wall Camp free of charge since the first one opened. In 2009, it is anticipated that 17,000 more sick children will enjoy a camp experience that heals not only their spirits, but the spirits of the hundreds of young volunteers who find inspiration in helping the children to a happy time and sometimes, even recovery or remission.
The post gives the link to the program: www.holeinthewallcamps.org. There’s something special you get when you are away from most of the comforts of civilization, even if you need to have a little help around the corner just in case.
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