Long Island Polar Dip to Benefit Camp Sunshine Set for Saturday, March 2 at Crab Meadow Beach in Huntington, N.Y.

Freezin’ 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

HUNTINGTON, N.Y. (February 4, 2013) – The Long Island Polar Dip to benefit Camp Sunshine is set for Saturday, March 2 at Crab Meadow Beach in Huntington, N.Y.

Participants will plunge into the frigid waters of Long Island Sound 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 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/LongIslandPolarDip. 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). Plungers are encouraged to create a plunge team of four or more people, consisting of co-workers and classmates and from civic groups or places of worship.

Each participant who raises at least $100 in pledges for Camp Sunshine will receive a coveted “I DID IT!” t-shirt. Crab Meadow Beach is located at the end of Waterside Avenue in Huntington Township on Long Island’s North Shore. The area features a boardwalk, playground and restaurant. Registration will get underway at noon with the dip set for 2 p.m.

“We’re so excited and gratified that Huntington Township has allowed us to relocate our plunge this year from storm-damaged Amityville,” said Michael Smith, Camp Sunshine’s Director of Special Events. “This polar dip on Long Island will raise funds for Camp Sunshine and help more families from that area take advantage of our services.”

He added, “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. It’s for the families and children that we plunge – we call it Freezin’ for a Reason.”

Those unable or not willing to submerge in near-freezing water can still participate in the Chicken Dip. Chicken dippers are still required to raise the minimum of $100 to participate, but only need to get their feet wet – a perfect opportunity for some of Camp Sunshine’s children to take part, Smith said.

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 2012, 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 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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Event listing

WHAT: Long Island Polar Dip to benefit Camp Sunshine

WHEN: Saturday, March 2, 2013 at 2 p.m. (registration begins at noon)

WHERE: Crab Meadow Beach, Waterside Ave., Huntington Township, Long Island, N.Y.  

WHO:   Event to raise money to send more New York families to Camp Sunshine (www.campsunshine.org), a one-of-a-kind national retreat in Maine for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families

MORE INFO: Participants are encouraged to raise a minimum of $100 in pledges and plunge into Long Island Sound to receive an official “I DID IT” long-sleeved t-shirt.  All proceeds will benefit Camp Sunshine. The goal is to raise $20,000.

WEBSITE: http://www.crowdrise.com/LongIslandPolarDip

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

Photos from past polar dips benefitting Camp Sunshine

Here is more news and information about Camp Sunshine