Fall Friends + Family Day
Sunday, November 3, 2019
Please contact us for more information!
Spring Friends + Family Day
Details TBA
Sean “Atom” Clair: A senior from Albany, NY, Atom majors in Chemistry and minors in Geography and Environmental Studies. The coolest place he’s been is Malta, and his favorite camp song is Penguin Dancing! This year, he is especially excited to expand Kesem’s reach to even more people on campus and in the community (and for next summer’s talent show, his favorite part of camp)!
Lauren “Franklin” Costello is a senior from Putnam Valley, NY, majoring in Psychology and Classics. Her spirit animal is a honey badger, and her favorite camp memory is starting a dance flashmob during silent lunch. This year, she is most looking forward to bringing Kesem to more children who have been touched by a parent’s cancer!
Shanna “Pip” Gerlach is a junior from Alexandria, VA, majoring in Psychology and Theatre with a minor in Art. She is currently studying abroad in Galway, Ireland but is so excited to be back on campus with her CK fam in the spring! Her favorite camp song is the Toast Rap but her favorite breakfast food is the kind of Cheerios that come in a purple box. At camp, you can catch her trying and failing to get Bop It high scores, so she can’t wait to be back at camp next summer to redeem herself!
Sarah “Daisy” Quagliariellois a senior from Westport, CT, majoring in English with minors in Music and Theatre, and a concentration in Arts Management. Her spirit animal is an otter and her favorite camp memory is the endless rounds of Ride that Pony! She is looking forward to getting even more involved with the incredible Kesem team!
Grace “Ruby” Lynch: A junior from Wilton, CT, Ruby is majoring in Psychology and Leadership with a minor in Biology. She is currently studying abroad in Dublin, Ireland! Her favorite camp song is Get Loose. This is her second year on the Development team, and she’s looking forward to Giving Tuesday!
Jake “Wall-E” Wood is a senior from Westfield, MA, majoring in Biology. His spirit animal is a bear and he’s currently trying to teach himself how to juggle! His favorite camp song is Ride that Pony. This year, he’s looking forward to helping Camp Kesem have another great week of camp!
Taylor “Tweety” Hoogsteden is a junior from Princeton Junction, NJ, majoring in Leadership with minors in Education and Society, and Law and the Liberal Arts. Her favorite cereal is Lucky Charms. This is her second year as a Make the Magic coordinator, and she is excited to meet her new committee members!
Caroline “Guacamole” Schiavo: A junior from Berkeley Heights, NJ, Guacamole is majoring in Political Science with a minor in Healthcare Studies. Her spirit animal is an elephant and her favorite camp song is the Llama Song. This year, she’s looking forward to meeting the new counselors!
Tyler “Fenway” Anderson: A senior from Hingham, MA, Fenway is a Psychology & Cognitive Science major with a minor in Health Care Studies. His favorite camp song is the Peanut Butter Reese’s Cup chant. This is his second year on the Operations team, and he is looking forward to “planning the gosh darn best week of camp aint nobody never seen before.” Us too, Fenway, us too.
Leslie “Pete” Gaines is a junior from New York, NY, majoring in Psychology with minors in Spanish and Theatre. She is currently studying abroad in London, England! Her favorite cereal is Lucky Charms and her favorite camp song is Hey Burrito. This year, she’s looking forward to another great Make the Magic!
Holly “Lilo” Schiltz is a senior from Round Lake Beach, IL, majoring in PPEL with a concentration in Politics and minoring in Journalism. Her favorite camp song is 60s Beach Party! She is joining the Operations team as the Teen Leadership Program coordinator. She is excited to be back on Ops and work closely with Pete and Fenway to plan camp!
Liz “Stitch” Minder is a senior from Medford, NJ, majoring in Biology and Theatre with a minor in Integrated Quantitative Science. Her spirit animal is a mantis shrimp, and her favorite camp song is The Hippopotamus Song. This year she is excited to reach more new campers so they can join our Kesem family!
Rosie “Poppy” Armstrong is a senior from Darien, CT, majoring in Psychology and Healthcare Studies. She’s been to Army Basic Camp at Fort Knox, and her favorite camp memory is seeing the Unit 1 campers grow and open up to one another throughout the week. This year, she’s excited to work with all the Coords to help make another great year of Camp happen!
Garrett “Hedgehog” Lang: A sophomore from Baltimore, MD, Hedgehog is majoring in Biochemistry and Math. He has travelled to the tallest sand dune in Europe, and his favorite camp song is Little Red Wagon. This year, he’s looking forward to having fun on the water trampoline on the lake!
Emma “Magoo” Gorman: A senior from Katonah, NY, Magoo is majoring in Marketing with a minor in Psychology. Her spirit animal is a Koala and her favorite camp song is Get Loose! This year she is excited to find more amazing people that will help shape and grow our Camp Kesem family!
Gavin “Chef” Haas is a sophomore from Fairfield, CT, and is a Math/Econ major with a minor is Accounting. His favorite camp memory is seeing the smiles on the campers faces when they went down the zipline and water slide for the first time. This year, he’s looking forward to watching new counselors develop a love for Kesem just like he did!
In addition to the year-round support, services, and training we receive from Kesem National,
we are grateful to those who provide support to our local Camp Kesem chapter including:
Our Advisory Board who provides ongoing guidance to our chapter’s leadership team.
Our corporate and foundation donors who provide critical resources to help fund the services we deliver locally.
The many retail and service providers who offer in-kind support for our summer camp as well as many or our year-round services.
Countless individuals – including our families and friends who honor our commitment to Camp Kesem with their financial support and unwavering encouragement.
Kesem’s national staff of over 30 professionals is involved in all aspects of establishing and supporting each of our 100+ chapters nationwide as well as the training and oversight of all college student leaders. Our leadership program has been developed over the last 17 years and, while both rigorous and demanding, is focused on providing the highest level of support, service and safety for the children who participate in our programs.
The Kesem Program Director for this chapter (see below) is involved in all aspects of camp and our additional services. While your local student leaders are your primary contact for questions, you are also welcome and encouraged to contact their Program Director with other specific questions.
Hannah joined the Camp Kesem National team as a Regional Program Director in April 2019. She first fell in love with the organization while attending University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where she served as an Alumni, Marketing, and PR Coordinator for one year and Co-Director for two. During her time as a student she also served as a Camp Advisor, Camp Prep Volunteer, Funder Prospect Research Intern and on the National Student Panel. She will graduate in May from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a Bachelor of Journalism in Advertising and Public Relations. From Omaha, Nebraska, she will reside in Chicago, Illinois, and can often be found enjoying the outdoors, drinking coffee or exploring new breakfast restaurants.
Our free year-round services provide children impacted by a parent's cancer a continuum of touchpoints throughout the year.
Kesem's flagship program operates over 100 free summer camps in 40 states for children ages 6 to 18 who have been impacted by a parent's cancer.
Kesem's care package program that immediately includes all families into our greater community in a personal, supportive manner.
Regular gatherings for existing and interested camper families, alumni, supporters and Kesem student leaders for a day of community building.
Provides Kesem families with regular updates including important deadlines and events.
Provides customized support for children through the many challenges associated with a parent or guardian's cancer journey.
Provides all children with personalized greetings–delivered by either traditional or electronic mail.
Provides online access to topical resources–including publications, books, organizations and resources.
This chapter's page is still under construction, check back soon!
