Camp Kesem seeking counselors

From mudslides to empowerment ceremonies, Camp Kesem provides a forum for counselors and campers to have fun and talk candidly about cancer.

This year, the camp is looking forward to its fifth year with the capacity of 100 campers.

The camp has a two-to-one ratio of counselors to campers. Therefore, it is looking for 50 IU students to volunteers.

Camp Kesem provides a camp for kids ages 6 through 16 whose parents have or had cancer.

“We all chose nicknames from home or new ones that fit our personalities,” said junior Nancy “Pants” Coner, who works for marketing and public relations. “I got my name because people called me Nancy Pants at home, and I didn’t want to use my name.”

The week-long camp occurs every year during the first week of August at Happy Hollow Children’s Camp.

“It is seriously the most fun week of the year,” said senior Alexandra “Sweetums” Pavkovich, student support chairwoman. “It is just an escape for their lives and helps them remember that they are kids.”

Senior Elizabeth “Spoon” Albert, Indiana Project co-chair for the camp, said she has been a volunteer since freshman year.

She said after her mother lost her fight against cancer, she didn’t know what to do, but then she heard about the camp from a friend.

“It really helped with me,” she said. “I am incredibly grateful. I don’t know what I would have done without Camp Kesem.”

The camp’s aim is to provide a group therapy among peers.

“I remember one year it had rained a lot, and we thought we were going to have to stay indoors, but we ended up going outside and creating a mudslide,” Albert said. “At the end of the camp, many kids said that was the highlight of camp.”

There are also opportunities for campers to share their personal stories of family members with cancer.

“One of my favorite memories from camp was during an empowerment ceremony,” Albert said. “About 20 kids stood up and told their story, and then they all comforted each other. It was very therapeutic.”