Camp Kesem searching for summer counselors

While organizers for IU’s Camp Kesem have struggled this year to find enough counselors, former program employees say they can’t figure out why.   

The camp is a free, week-long program for children ages 6 to 16 whose parents have or had cancer, and it is organized and staffed completely by IU undergraduates. It has received about 30 applications, but the camp’s organizers are seeking 50 counselors for this summer.

“Obviously we would like to have more than 50 people apply for spots so we can make sure we have a good set,” said Mark Howard, who has been involved with Camp Kesem for four years.

Even as organizers have struggled to field a full staff, the camp continues to grow. Last year about 70 campers attended; this year the number has risen to 100. With that growth comes a struggle to maintain the camp’s 2:1 camper to counselor ratio.

“That’s the basis for Camp Kesem,” Howard said. “We make sure the kids get all the love and attention they need throughout the week.”

When they are at home, the focus is often on how the disease affects the parent, and not necessarily on the children, who sometimes don’t receive as much attention, said Kyle Katz, who was a counselor for the first time last summer.

“It’s one of those things you don’t really think about in the situation,” he said. “(But at camp) there’s a feeling like ‘Oh, look, that mommy doesn’t have hair too.’ It’s great ‘cause the kids can relate to others.”

A typical day at camp starts at 7:30 a.m. and ends at 10 p.m. The day is filled with songs, arts and crafts, sports, drama, swimming, hiking, canoeing, campfires and marshmallows.

“You revert back to being a kid while creating lasting relationships with kids and counselors,” said Rachel Firestone, who has been involved with Camp Kesem for three years.

Every night the campers have a time called “cabin chat” with other kids and their counselors when they talk about anything, including  issues at home.

Lauren Ellis, who has been involved with Camp Kesem for four years, remembers one particularly poignant cabin chat during her second year.

She said the girls in her cabin were having a rough time getting along at first. But after a long day of fighting, one of the six-year-old girls asked everyone why they were at camp.

“Everyone explained their parents’ illnesses in very adult terms ... and after that everyone got along. One girl even asked for a group hug,” she said. “The girls were helping each other. They said they felt like they had a family away from home.”

Ellis said after experiences like that, you get sucked into the “magic” of Camp Kesem, and you’re “in forever.”

In an environment like Camp Kesem, cabin chat is not the only time cancer comes up.

“I was in art class one day and it was just me and a table of kids. ... Next thing I know, they’re talking about cancer,” Katz said. “(Things like that) show why camp is needed. ... These kids can’t go to other kids at school.”

The counselors know the importance of this camp first hand.

“Once you go to camp you see the whole purpose,” Katz said. “But it’s hard to get new people to give up a week of their summer. They hear that they don’t get paid and they have trouble seeing it.”

The camp gives these special kids a much needed break from home life Ellis said.

“Instead of being kids, they have to be way more mature than they should be at 6, 8, 12 years old,” she said. “But after two days at camp they regress back to being a child.”

Since this is the fifth year for Camp Kesem, many of the people who originally started the camp have either graduated or will in May.

Ellis said one of the main goals is to find a younger base of volunteers to run the camp in the future.

“Tell people they should come ... do something outside of the box. I didn’t know what to expect,” Katz said. “It was such a shock. I’m really happy I did this. One of the smartest decisions I ever made was going out on that limb.”