This month, RYP had the opportunity to interview Marco Bucci, Social Media Manager and Special Projects Coordinator at Camp Good Days, an organization that provides services for children with cancer, who have a parent or sibling with cancer, or who have lost a parent or sibling to cancer, about what’s coming up and what YP’s in our community can do to help.
1. For those who may not know, tell us a little bit about your organization.
Camp Good Days provides residential camping programs at our beautiful Recreational Facility, located on the shores of Keuka Lake in Branchport, New York, as well as year-round recreational and support activities, in the Rochester, Buffalo, Ithaca & Syracuse, New York areas for children with cancer and the entire family. At Camp Good Days, participants have the opportunity to regain some of what cancer has taken away from them. While a vast majority of our children reside in NY, Camp Good Days has no geographical boundaries and accepts children from all 50 states and all over the world. No child with cancer is ever turned away from Camp Good Days.
Camp Good Days provides services for: children with cancer, children who have a parent or sibling with cancer and/or children who have lost a parent or sibling to cancer. We also offer programs for women and men who have or have had cancer. In addition, Camp Good Days provides programs for children touched by sickle cell anemia. All of the programs and services are offered free of charge for the participants.
2. What’s something you wish the community knew about your organization that they may not know?
People familiar with Camp Good Days know that we have programs for children who have been diagnosed with cancer, but they don’t always know that we have programs for the siblings of children diagnosed with cancer, and children of parents diagnosed with cancer. We also have programs for men and women diagnosed with cancer. Cancer affects the whole family, and we believe that these children also need a place to be around children who know what they are going through, and a place where they can have fun!
3. What’s currently on your organizations wish list?
Check out our Amazon wishlist!
4. What is the impact a donation makes on the people you serve?
Our Founder, Gary Mervis, made the promise when he started Camp Good Days that all of our programs would be provided free of charge so as not to place any financial burden on our families. Any donation made to Camp Good Days helps us to provide our programs and services free of charge to the participants. We receive next to no government funding, so the money we raise through our events and through donations from generous people in the community is how we can continue to do what we do! Any donation helps to make sure no family ever has to pay for their child to go to camp.
5. How can young professionals get involved?
We always need volunteers! We have our camping programs in the summer down at our recreational facility on Keuka Lake as well as many events during the rest of the year. Whether you can give a whole week at a camping program, or a few hours at a Kazoo Fest shift, we can always use your help! Visit our website at www.campgooddays.org for volunteer information, or call our office at 585-624-5555 to see how you can help.