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For Immediate Release
December 3, 2012

Contact:
Michael Smith, Camp Sunshine
(207) 655-3800
E-mail: msmith@campsunshine.org

Web Site: http://www.CampSunshine.org

Fundraising Effort Underway for New Year’s Day Coney Island Polar Dip to Benefit Camp Sunshine

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, N.Y. (December 3, 2012) – Fundraising efforts are underway for the Coney Island Polar Bear Club’s seventh annual Coney Island Polar Dip to benefit Camp Sunshine, set for 1 p.m. on New Year’s Day at Riegelmann Boardwalk on historic Coney Island in Brooklyn.

Participants will ring in the New Year by plunging 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 polar dip participant is encouraged to raise a minimum of $100 in pledges for Camp Sunshine.

Fundraising underway for Coney Island Polar Dip set to benefit Camp Sunshine, set for New Year's Day in NYC

New this year, the Coney Island Polar Dip has partnered with CrowdRise, a popular online fundraising platform, to make it easier for the entire community to unite, support and fundraise for Camp Sunshine. To start raising funds, form or join a team, and donate online, visit http://www.crowdrise.com/ConeyIslandPolarDip. For more information, call (207) 655-3800.

Organizers encourage 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. 

The world-renowned Coney Island Polar Dip has set a goal to raise in excess of $30,000 in 2013, enough to send 15 New York families to Camp Sunshine.

Fundraising underway for Coney Island Polar Dip set to benefit Camp Sunshine, set for New Year's Day in NYC

With preparations for the Coney Island Polar Dip underway, organizers said they also wanted to acknowledge and send their thoughts and prayers to the many New York and New Jersey families affected by Hurricane Sandy.

“Sadly, just last weekend Camp Sunshine hosted a session where three of the 29 families in attendance were still displaced or without power back home,” said Michael Smith, Camp Sunshine’s Director of Special Events. “We know all to well, having hosted numerous families from Brooklyn this year, just how this storm has affected lives.”

He continued, “We hope this plunge will serve as an opportunity to rally around families who are not only battling life-threatening illnesses, but now also dealing with the aftermath of the storm.”  

Additionally, this will be your last opportunity to support NY Cares by dropping off 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.  

Fundraising underway for Coney Island Polar Dip set to benefit Camp Sunshine, set for New Year's Day in NYC

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.

Fundraising underway for Coney Island Polar Dip set to benefit Camp Sunshine, set for New Year's Day in NYC

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, 156 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.

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; and also hosts fall and winter programs. To support Camp Sunshine, call (207) 655-3800 or visit www.campsunshine.org.

 

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Photos from the 2012 Coney Island Polar Dip

Here is more news and information about Camp Sunshine



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