Camp Sunshine Receives $35,000 Raised from 12th Annual Moonlight Charity Challenge at Shawnee Peak

BRIDGTON, Maine – The Moonlight Charity Challenge held Friday, Feb. 2 at Shawnee Peak raised more than $35,000 for Camp Sunshine in Casco. The event raised $50,000 overall with the remaining proceeds benefiting the Shawnee Peak Adaptive Skiing Program.

About 120 participants took part in the event this year, which included racing down a modified giant slalom race course, dinner, raffles and lots of fun.

Since it began in 1994, Shawnee Peak’s Moonlight Charity Challenge has raised more than $400,000 for national, regional and local charities. Sponsors included Downeast Energy and Holloway Automotive and this year, WCSH 6 was the media sponsor.

The event has raised nearly $150,000 for Camp Sunshine since 2002 when the camp was named as a beneficiary.

“This is a great event and it has helped us tremendously over the years,” said Matthew M. Hoidal, executive director of Camp Sunshine. “The money raised for Camp Sunshine over the years has helped us expand our program into the winter. And the match between Shawnee Peak and Camp Sunshine is so perfect, and timely, since it has allowed us to build skiing into our winter program.”

Children and their families participating in Camp Sunshine’s winter program now spend a day skiing at Shawnee Peak, he said.

“The mountain is perfect for our families,” Hoidal added. “And Shawnee Peak’s adaptive ski program also is ideal for our campers who are either blind, deaf, or are amputees.”
Of the $35,000 raised for Camp Sunshine this year, $10,000 will be used to help support the continued running of the camp’s winter program, and the other $25,000 will be added to the Shawnee Peak Family Sponsorship Fund at the camp, which will endow one family sponsorship in perpetuity.

Chet and Shirley Homer, the owners of Shawnee Peak, expressed their appreciation for the program at the event.

“To be able to offer these kids and their families a winter program is wonderful,” said Chet Homer. ”We’re proud to be a part of the good work at Camp Sunshine and happy to help.”

For additional information on Shawnee Peak, visit www.shawneepeak.com.

Camp Sunshine, located in Maine’s Sebago Lake region, provides a camp vacation at no charge to children with life-threatening illnesses and their families. The camp offers one of the only programs in the nation whose mission is to address the impact of a life-threatening illness on every member of the immediate family. While attending the various week-long camps, families are able to rebuild relationships together and meet other families facing similar challenges.

Founded in 1984, Camp Sunshine was the first and remains one of the only camps in the nation whose sole focus is on serving the entire family, and not just the sick child. The program is free of charge to all families, and includes 24-hour onsite medical and psychosocial support. Bereavement groups also are offered for families who have lost a child to an illness.

For more information about Camp Sunshine’s programs, which now take place year-round, and to learn more about volunteering or making a donation, visit the camp’s website at www.campsunshine.org, or call (207) 655-3800.

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Photo image cutline: From left, Matt Hoidal, Executive Director of Camp Sunshine; Peter Roth, Event Co-Chair; Shirley and Chet Homer, owners of Shawnee Peak; and Melissa Rock, Director of Marketing & Communications at Shawnee Peak.