{"id":208102,"date":"2023-12-21T07:30:42","date_gmt":"2023-12-21T12:30:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=208102"},"modified":"2023-12-21T12:12:57","modified_gmt":"2023-12-21T17:12:57","slug":"kesem-camp-care-and-connections-for-kids-impacted-by-a-parents-cancer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2023\/12\/kesem-camp-care-and-connections-for-kids-impacted-by-a-parents-cancer\/","title":{"rendered":"Kesem: Camp, Care, and Connections for Kids Impacted by a Parent\u2019s Cancer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Camp Kesem is like any other summer camp: young adult counselors lead younger campers in a fun-filled week of outdoor games, arts and crafts, and campfire nights, capped off with a group talent show.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But there are a few things that set this camp apart: it is provided completely free of charge; it is run entirely by volunteer college student teams; and all the campers have been impacted by a parent or primary caregiver\u2019s cancer diagnosis.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The nationwide organization Kesem was launched in 2002 with a goal of providing fun, community, and normalcy to children experiencing a parent\u2019s cancer. The summer camp is its flagship program, but the organization has since expanded to include year-round support structures, like care packages and activity days.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

UConn\u2019s Kesem chapter was founded in 2020 by Nathan P\u00e9rez-Espitia \u201822 (CLAS). P\u00e9rez-Espitia participated in Yale\u2019s Kesem chapter in high school, in the wake of his mother\u2019s cancer diagnosis. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt gave him motivation; it made him feel like a regular, normal kid who could have fun despite the illness of his mother, and gave him a sense of purpose,\u201d recalls Catina Caban-Owen, P\u00e9rez-Espitia\u2019s great aunt, who is an adjunct professor at the UConn School of Social Work.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

P\u00e9rez-Espitia lost his mother to cancer during his sophomore year of high school. When he got to UConn, he was determined to start a new Kesem chapter, which would increase the number of kids in the region who could access Kesem\u2019s vital resources.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Students
Fun outdoor activities color kids’ experience at Camp Kesem — like this game of tag with rainbow powders. (Courtesy of Megan LeMay)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Getting Off the Ground<\/h3>\n

The first attempt was an uphill battle, he recalls. In order to launch a new Kesem chapter, applicants must demonstrate community buy-in through a local fundraising and voting campaign. As a first-year student who was commuting to Storrs from Willimantic without a car, P\u00e9rez-Espitia had had little opportunity to establish the grassroots network he would need to draw on.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut I knew, like in my head, I have four years here \u2014 I’m going to make it happen,\u201d he says.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Learning from the previous year\u2019s difficulties, P\u00e9rez-Espitia mounted a bigger and better campaign as a sophomore. He booked a table near the entrance of the Homer Babbidge Library for 10 hours every day, which was constantly staffed with volunteers who would tell visitors about Kesem and help them cast their vote for the UConn chapter online.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Organizing also took place at favorite local pub Ted\u2019s, in crowded lecture halls where <\/span>P\u00e9rez-Espitia addressed the student body, and on social media. Enterprising volunteers papered the Storrs campus with flyers and cold-approached other students to spread the word.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe did have a multitude of community support. It was beautiful to see,\u201d P\u00e9rez-Espitia says. \u201cI\u2019m going to be forever grateful to the UConn community and to the Willimantic community for coming out and getting it done. It\u2019s still surreal to me, even three years out.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The fledgling UConn Kesem chapter hosted its first camp virtually in 2021, with about twelve campers. 2022 saw UConn\u2019s first in-person camp, in partnership with Kesem Rhode Island (which will continue for this year\u2019s camp), with a total of ten campers.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt ended up being such a magical week, and one of the most amazing experiences I\u2019ve ever been a part of,\u201d says Megan LeMay \u201824 (CLAS), UConn Kesem codirector. \u201cIt felt like a big family throughout the whole week.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A
Campers create luminaries, decorating them with their camp names. (Courtesy of Megan LeMay)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Camp Traditions<\/h3>\n

Campers stayed in cabins, rode paddleboards and kayaks, played gaga ball, created friendship bracelets and luminaries, and sang under the stars. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In a tiny twist on the traditional summer camp template, the children were also invited to participate in one afternoon of “Empowerment,\u201d a guided group reflection on the feelings brought up by their family member\u2019s cancer. The session began by passing around a ball of yarn and twisting it around each camper\u2019s wrist \u2014 symbolizing the common \u201cthread\u201d among all of them \u2014 with each turn allowing the attendants to express their own feelings as they spoke about their experiences.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The camp team works hard to create a fun, family-like atmosphere, where campers have the option to unburden themselves from the stress and grief of living with a parent\u2019s cancer, or actively engage with it and process these feelings alongside others with similar experiences. Nobody at camp uses their real names \u2014\u00a0even the counselors choose aliases for the week \u2014\u00a0which allows for a conscious break from everyday life.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not only a tradition, but it allows us to be whomever we want,\u201d explains Caban-Owen, who volunteers as a mental health professional at camp and goes by the name \u201cWolfMina.\u201d \u201cAnd it provides not only a fun way to address each other, but also privacy and confidentiality.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

LeMay becomes \u201cCasper\u201d (like the friendly ghost) at camp. Gitte Joergensen, a research associate in the department of psychology at UConn, is known as \u201cSpooky.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Like Caban-Owen, Joergensen volunteers as a mental health professional and comes to Kesem with deep personal connections to the issue, as a cancer survivor who has also lost family to cancer.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs soon as I read about the program, I knew that I needed to volunteer,\u201d Joergensen says. \u201cI don\u2019t have children myself, but I\u2019m close to my sister\u2019s kids, who were 10 and 12 when she died of breast cancer. This was in Denmark, where I\u2019m originally from, and unfortunately there was not much support for them there. However, if they had been given the opportunity to attend something like Camp Kesem it would have been invaluable at the time.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Three
Kesem campers work on arts & crafts indoors. (Courtesy of Megan LeMay)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cA Cause Close to My Heart\u201d<\/h3>\n

According to <\/span>Kesem\u2019s FY22 annual report<\/span><\/a>, 98% of parents felt that their child was positively impacted by Camp Kesem, and 96% credit Kesem with directly improving their child\u2019s (and their own) mental health. In addition to the impacts on campers, Kesem also creates an opportunity for the volunteer and professional teams to join a community and do work they can feel good about.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cKesem is really just a cause close to my heart,\u201d says Abigail \u201cA<\/span>2<\/span>\u201d Amara \u201826 (CLAS), UConn Kesem\u2019s outreach coordinator. \u201cAbout two weeks before I moved to UConn, my mom was diagnosed with stage three cancer. Moving to school and just not knowing how to grasp it, not being able to be near her, was probably one of the hardest things I\u2019ve ever had to deal with.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Amara came onboard the organization earlier this year and is looking forward to experiencing her first camp this summer. So far, she says, she has enjoyed coordinating events like Friends and Family Day, where campers got to participate in a day of fun activities (like pumpkin painting) at UConn\u2019s Storrs campus.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI just like seeing all the families, and seeing all the kids and just connecting with them has made me so, so, so, excited,\u201d Amara says. \u201cIt\u2019s a way to continue this journey. I really wanted to be on the outreach board because, personally, I know how to talk about these things and be sensitive, and just be super empathetic to everyone\u2019s situation.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While many of the volunteers who make Kesem possible have had their own family experiences with cancer, Joergensen emphasizes that this is not a prerequisite for getting involved.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is open to anybody,\u201d she says. \u201cPeople sometimes feel like they need to make excuses for wanting to get involved. But I say, if you want to help, help! We have enough tragedy already.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

UConn Kesem hosts fundraising events throughout the year and is always looking for more volunteers, including UConn students and community members. Those interested can visit the group\u2019s Facebook page<\/a> or email uconn@kesem.org<\/a> for more information.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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