How Camp Sunshine Supports Families of Children with Cancer

Located along the shores of Sebago Lake in Casco, Maine, Camp Sunshine was founded by Dr. Larry and Anna Gould in 1984 to provide a week-long retreat for children with cancer and their families. The Goulds hosted the first camp session in June 1984 at their Point Sebago Resort property and added a second campus in 2001 to accommodate growing demand. Today, Camp Sunshine serves as many as 750 families through 25 sessions per year. Moreover, it has welcomed more than 50,000 people from the United States and 27 other countries since its inception.

The one-week program at Camp Sunshine is offered to families at no cost, thanks to charitable support from donors and philanthropic partners such as The Diamond Blackfan Anemia Foundation and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Camp Sunshine programming has also expanded with necessary medical resources to serve families of children with cancer, brain tumors, renal disease, certain hematologic conditions, and systemic lupus erythematosus, as well as those who have had solid organ transplantation.

Comfortable Lodging

Camp Sunshine families are given a private suite with a bedroom and private bath in addition to a living space with bunk beds, microwave oven, and small refrigerator. There are 40 of these suites in the Mitchell Rubenstein & Laurie Silvers Family Living Center and the Joan & Irwin Jacobs Family Living Center, and both facilities feature an attached elevator building with access to the second floor for those with mobility challenges.

The Joan & Joe Pappalardo Volunteer Living Center, meanwhile, can accommodate up to 70 volunteers in its 20 shared suites. Volunteers can also stay in the Acorn Hill Fund Caring Together Lodging Center or the Orokawa Foundation Family-Volunteer Center, the latter of which is designated for families returning to Camp Sunshine as volunteers.

Fun Activities

Each day at Camp Sunshine starts with a hearty breakfast, following which attendees are grouped by age to enjoy a variety of indoor and outdoor activities. Groups are split by age into infants, 3 to 5, 6 to 8, 9 to 12, and teens. Morning activities in the summer include swimming, kayaking, archery, mini golf, and arts and crafts. In the winter, children spend morning hours sledding, ice skating, and snowshoeing. Teenagers converge in the Entertainment Center and participate alongside parents in the Super Duper Blooper Games.

Younger children and their parents have a designated rest period following lunch, while tweens and teens move on to other activities, including cookie decorating, computer time, Frisbee golf, and volleyball. Later in the afternoon, parents can participate in discussion groups to receive moral support from and share stories with other parents in similar situations. After-dinner events include a masquerade party, parent gourmet dinner, celebration show, and talent show.

A Child’s Wish

A Child’s Wish is one of the other programs that takes place at night at Camp Sunshine. Campers are prompted to create a wish boat during an arts and crafts session earlier in the week. On the last night of camp, they bring these boats to a pond and place lit candles on top of them. Children express wishes — aloud or silently — before blowing out the candles on their boats. It’s a moving ceremony and fitting conclusion to camp.

Award-Winning Staff

Camp Sunshine’s leaders and volunteers have received a plethora of awards over the years. Dr. Larry Gould received the Rainbow Award from the Adam Walsh Children’s Fund in February 1996 and, the following month, longtime volunteer and board member Joe Pappalardo received the Jefferson Award. Pappalardo was later given the Governor’s Service Award for Excellence in Volunteer Administration by Maine Governor Angus King. Michael Smith, Michael Katz, Jean Sequeira, Andrew Eichenfield, and Ron Eby are among the other volunteers and leaders at Camp Sunshine to receive accolades.

Camp Sunshine received American Camp Association (ACA) accreditation in 2002, and the camp itself has since earned multiple awards and accolades. It earned the Eleanor P. Eells Award for Program Excellence from the ACA and the Facilities of Merit Award from Maine Recreation and Park Association in 2004. More recently, it placed first among nonprofits in the 2021 and 2020 Eagle Choice Awards and received the highest possible rating (4 stars) from Charity Navigator earlier this year.

Virtual Programs

Because of COVID-19 and state regulations, Camp Sunshine offered alternative at-home programming during 2021. It celebrated this past Halloween with the Box of Sunshine: Great Pumpkin Edition. Families received a box of activities, goodies, and arts and crafts as well as access to a website with on-demand content and craft project demonstrations. It also offered a two-night virtual “mixed diagnosis” program for families during Halloween weekend. In November, Camp Sunshine hosted a two-night virtual bereavement program for parents who have lost children.

A Respite and Haven

Ultimately, Camp Sunshine is such a valuable resource for families of children with life-threatening illnesses because it provides something that all the hospitals and doctors in the world cannot: space to relax, have fun, connect with others going through the same experiences, and let the everyday stress of life recede into the background for a while.