For Immediate Release
October 20, 2008

Contact:
Matthew M. Hoidal, Esq., Executive Director, Camp Sunshine
(207) 655-3800
E-mail: mhoidal@campsunshine.org
Web Site: www.CampSunshine.org

BOSTON – The Boston Pumpkin Festival didn’t set a world record this year, but it did succeed in raising awareness and money for Camp Sunshine, a national retreat for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families.

Approximately 15,000 lit jack-o-lanterns were amassed in Boston City Hall Plaza on Saturday, Oct. 18, for a festive event attended by more than 50,000 people.

All proceeds for the event will go to benefit Camp Sunshine, which each year hosts dozens of Bay State children and their families who are dealing with life-threatening illnesses. The final tally for money raised in Boston is still being calculated. Over the past six years, Camp Sunshine’s pumpkin festivals have raised close to $1 million for the Casco, Maine-based non-profit organization. The Camp hosts similar events in Maine and New York City.

“We have been hosting this event in Boston for six years now, and each year I am more and more amazed by the generosity and dedication of everyone involved,” said Matthew Hoidal, executive director of Camp Sunshine. “It was an incredible event and a true celebration of life.”

About 750 special glow heart pumpkins were purchased by attendees in honor of loved ones battling life-threatening illnesses or in their memory. Volunteers carved a special ‘glow heart’ in the pumpkins and displayed them in a giant pumpkin tower, adding an emotional touch to each event.

This year’s Boston Pumpkin Festival fell short of the Guinness World Record of 30,128 lit jack-o-lanterns set at the Camp Sunshine event in downtown Boston in 2006.

Since its inception in 1984, Camp Sunshine has offered children with life-threatening illnesses and their families a place to relax together for a week, and to take a break from the extraordinary demands placed on them on a daily basis. The year-round program is free of charge and staffed almost entirely by volunteers. It has the distinction of being the only program in the nation whose mission is to address the impact of a life threatening illness on every member of the immediate family – the ill child, the parents, and the siblings.

Camp Sunshine has provided a haven for more than 23,000 individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds. In addition to providing 24-hour onsite medical and psychosocial support the camp offers a variety of daily activities ranging from swimming and boating to archery and soccer and special events such as bonfires and cookouts.

To learn more about Camp Sunshine, please call 207-655-3800 or visit www.campsunshine.org.

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