children with cancer

Jordan Melnick is a grad school scholar, a phenomenal writer/journalist and…my sisters’ fiancé (And might I add what a fine young chap he is!). He recently wrote an article that we both felt needed to be shared, about the economies effect on funding for special-needs camps. Many camps are getting hit twice by cutbacks in corporate support and then again by subsidizing camper admission fees, because families just don’t have money right now. Read more and together let’s figure out what we can do to help:

The recession has hurt all summer camps this year, but special-needs camps—those serving children with cancer, diabetes and other diseases—are especially feeling the pinch.

One Step At A Time, a summer camp for cancer and leukemia patients run by a Chicago-based organization, has suffered a more than 20 percent drop in donations.

Perhaps the biggest hit has come from corporations, whose donations typically anchor these camps’ budgets. But this year many companies have shrunk their contributions or eliminated them entirely as hard times have constrained corporate generosity.

Chicago-based Children’s Oncology Services Inc., which runs the One Step At A Time camp for cancer and leukemia patients on Lake Geneva, in Williams Bay, Wis., has seen a 20 percent to 25 percent reduction in all donations, according to Executive Director Jacob Drescher.