Coney Island Polar Dip to Benefit Camp Sunshine Set for New Year’s Day, NYC Businesses Encouraged to Form Teams

Freezin’ for a Reason event to raise money for Camp Sunshine, a one-of-a-kind retreat in Maine for children with life-threatening diseases and their families

CONEY ISLAND, New York (December 14, 2011) – The Coney Island Polar Bear Club’s sixth annual Coney Island Polar Dip to benefit Camp Sunshine is set for 1 p.m. on New Year’s Day at Riegelmann Boardwalk on Coney Island in Brooklyn.

Participants will plunge into the chilly waters off Coney Island Beach to raise money to help send more families from New York to Camp Sunshine, a one-of-a-kind national retreat in Maine for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families. Every participant is encouraged to raise a minimum of $100 in pledges for Camp Sunshine.

To register or pledge online and for more information, visit www.freezinforareason.com or call (207) 655-3800.

New this year, organizers are encouraging businesses and organizations from across the New York City region to form teams of co-workers to take the plunge together, creating holiday camaraderie in the workplace and helping a great cause at the same time.

Additionally, this will be your last opportunity to support NY Cares by dropping of a coat for those in need. Plungers may be freezing for a reason but there is no need for others in New York to be left out in the cold.

Last year, the world-renowned Coney Island Polar Dip raised $50,000 for Camp Sunshine. The goal for the Jan. 1, 2012 event is to raise more than $60,000 – enough to host an entire new session at Camp Sunshine for more than 30 families.

“The reality of this event is that the discomfort our plungers feel for just a moment will never compare to what our families go through during the course of their child’s illness,” said Michael Smith, Camp Sunshine’s Director of Special Events. “It’s for the families and children that we plunge... we call it Freezin for a Reason. “

Participants are asked to arrive early for the 1 p.m. event (registration begins at 10 a.m.) and to assemble on the boardwalk at Stillwell Avenue. Plungers are encouraged to bring warm clothes, surf boots or old sneakers, and towels. The NYC Parks Department is providing changing facilities.

Participants who make a donation to Camp Sunshine will receive a free breakfast and all-day admission to the New York Aquarium. For more information, visit the Coney Island Polar Bear Club online at www.polarbearclub.com.

Nestled alongside the shores of beautiful Sebago Lake in Casco, Maine, Camp Sunshine (www.campsunshine.org) offers 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 is 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.

Since the opening of the Camp’s year-round campus in 2001, more ill children and their families have come from New York than any other state in the nation. In 2011, more than 190 families from New York attended the Camp. Even with multiple sessions being added annually at Camp Sunshine, there are still many more children from New York being newly diagnosed each year, Smith said.

Camp Sunshine’s program continues to be recommended by the following New York treatment centers: Mount Sinai Medical Center, Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, Schneider's Children’s Hospital, Children’s Hospital at Montefiore, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York University Medical Center, Brooklyn Hospital Center, Westchester Medical Center, Stony Brook Medical Center, and numerous others.

Camp Sunshine recently received a coveted 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, the nation’s leading independent charity evaluator. The rating placed Camp Sunshine 39th in the country out of thousands of charities that were exhaustively analyzed for financial oversight, management and transparency.

About Camp Sunshine
Camp Sunshine offers 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 upon them on a daily basis. The year-round program is free of charge and staffed almost entirely by volunteers. It is 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. Since its inception in 1984, Camp Sunshine has provided a haven for more than 32,000 individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds. In addition to providing 24-hour on-site medical and psychosocial support, the camp offers a variety of daily activities, including swimming, boating, archery and soccer, and special events such as bonfires and cookouts. To support Camp Sunshine, please call (207) 655-3800 or visit www.campsunshine.org.

# # #
Photos from 2011 Coney Island Polar Dip courtesy of Frank Esposito





Here is more information about Camp Sunshine