For Immediate Release
March 13, 2015
Contact:
Michael Smith, Camp Sunshine
(207) 655-3800
E-mail: msmith@campsunshine.org
Web Site: http://www.CampSunshine.org
Long Island Polar Dip, Rescheduled Due to Ice Floes, Set for March 21 at Crab Meadow Beach in Northport
Freezinâ for a Reason event to help send more N.Y. families to Camp Sunshine, a one-of-a-kind retreat in Maine for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families
NORTHPORT, N.Y. (March 13, 2015) – The Long Island Polar Dip, which had to be rescheduled due to dangerous ice floes in Long Island Sound, is now set for Saturday, March 21 at Crab Meadow Beach in Northport.
Participants will plunge into the frigid waters to raise money to help send more New York families to Camp Sunshine, a one-of-a-kind national retreat in Casco, Maine for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families. Every polar dip participant is encouraged to raise a minimum of $100 in pledges.
The Long Island Polar Dip partners with TeamRaiser, a popular online fundraising platform, to make it easier to participate. To donate online, form or join a team, visit http://www.freezinforareason.com. For more information, call (207) 655-3800.
Organizers have set a goal to raise $20,000 – enough to send 10 New York families to Camp Sunshine (www.campsunshine.org). Each participant who raises at least $100 in pledges will receive a coveted “I DID IT!” t-shirt.
Crab Meadow Beach is located at the end of Waterside Avenue in Northport on Long Island’s North Shore. The area features a boardwalk, playground and restaurant. Registration will get underway at 11 a.m. with the dip set for 1 p.m.
“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. “We call it Freezin’ for a Reason.”
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 each session is staffed with the assistance of 80 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 2013, 152 families from New York, many from Long Island, 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 is a year-round retreat, which provides respite, support, joy, and hope to children with life-threatening illnesses and their families through various stages of a child’s illness. The program is free of charge to all families, and includes 24-hour on-site medical and psychosocial support. Bereavement groups are also offered for families who have lost a child to an illness. To support Camp Sunshine, call (207) 655-3800 or visit www.campsunshine.org.
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Photos from 2013 event by Lisa Gellatly Yannes of the Times Beacon Record
Here is more news and information about Camp Sunshine
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