Thousands of children and their families were granted a reprieve from the daily grind of illness this Chanukah when they gathered at parties around the world to celebrate the miracle of Chanukah as well as miracles of their own.

Participants were treated to performances by world renowned recording artists, performers, and clowns. There was music, singing and dancing, delicious food, & crafts. The highlight of each evening were the toys the children received thanks to the Honey Engel Toy Drive, the Ossie Schonfeld Toy Fund, our generous sponsors, schools, and shuls.

Music made possible by The Ariella Horenstein Music in Our Lives Program

Many thanks to our dedicated volunteers for making it all possible!

CREDITS
Photos by Ephraim Shapiro, Itamar Frankenthal, Joel Cherner, Rikki Liff, The Lakewood Shopper, and many other kind souls.
Video created by Moshe Deutsch
“Miracle” by Matisyahu
No copyright infringement intended

A couple of lucky Camp Simcha campers and counselors got to spend this past Sunday participating in “The Amazing Race Scavenger Hunt!”

Three camper/counselor teams competed in an epic scavenger hunt that took them across Manhattan. Following Camp Simcha standards, the hunt was composed of creative, wacky, and wildly fun activities that included taking pictures of people wearing Camp Simcha hats and “working” behind the TKTS counter. Points were awarded for bringing back used metro cards, banana peels, and items with the word “camp” on them. The highlight of the hunt was definitely taking a video of four random people doing the Waka Waka dance in the middle of Times Square! After the hunt, the teams met at Kosher Delight for a celebratory dinner, where they added up their points. Karen and Rebecca were deemed the winners and were awarded awesome I Love NY sweatshirts. Looking forward to more reunions, and more Camp Simcha excitement!

The international reach of Chai Lifeline, the children’s health support network that brings hope and joy to families around the world, is evident this week as the organization’s many chol hamoed activities enhance the delight of thousands of children and families across the globe. 

The largest gathering took place at Dorney Park, where more than 1,400 Chai Lifeline guests spent a day at one of the northeast’s premier amusement venues. Families traveled from as far south as Baltimore and as far north as Rockland and Orange counties to spend time with one another. Chai Lifeline’s counselors, famous for their raucous good humor and endless supply of hugs and love, were everywhere. They accompanied children onto the fastest and highest roller coasters, encouraging children who rarely have opportunities for outings like this one to scream with each steep plunge and sharply rounded corner. Parents stood in awe as their children alit, their young faces pale but their laughter loud and clear, and immediately entered the queue to repeat the experience.

A day of rides and attractions might have been enough for some, but Chai Lifeline’s young volunteers went the extra mile, organizing a concert that brought families together in the late afternoon.

“The park was a sea of green,” said Faige Yudkovsky, director of volunteer services and coordinator of the event. “Chai Lifeline families were a large presence in the park. Everywhere you looked, there were families having a wonderful time together.”

Another 350 Chai Lifeline children and families and counselors enhanced their holiday with an exuberant Simchas Bais HaShoeva in Clifton, New Jersey. Families came from Monsey, Williamsburgh, Boro Park, and Monroe to dance and support one another.

The support that families receive from one another at events like this one keeps them going for months. “Many of the families know one another from other Chai Lifeline events. As soon as they hear of an event like this, they want to be there,” said coordinator Hershey Katz.

A record heat wave on the west coast couldn’t keep Chai Lifeline families away from the annual Sukkos Family Extravaganza at Scandia. The event has become a “must” on the social calendars of hundreds of friends and supporters, who flock to the park. Over 1,800 friends and supporters joined 100 volunteers and 150 Chai Lifeline patients, parents, and siblings.

“We brought ice chests and a boatload of drinks to keep guests hydrated during the day,” explained Randi Grossman, regional director. “We weren’t going to let the heat get in the way!”

Like all amusement parks, Scandia features a wide array of rides and attractions for every age group. Chai Lifeline, which takes over the park for the day, brings the enjoyment to a new level with entertainment and child-centered projects throughout the day. This year’s entertainment includes jugglers, stilt-walkers, face painting, balloon artistry, and live music.

Though the US was enjoying one of the warmest Sukkos in memory, fall has already begun in Canada. Chai Lifeline Canada, the organization’s North American affiliate, took advantage of the change in seasons to bring its families to Brooks Farm, a Toronto-area attraction. Together with volunteer counselors, children and their parents enjoyed a day of farm activities that included apple picking, pumpkin shooting, hayrides, and running through a corn maze.

Across the sea, Sukkos was a time for merriment and fun for British children with cancer and other serious illnesses. Camp Simcha UK, Chai Lifeline’s affiliate, celebrated Sukkos at Chessington World of Daventure, a London-area theme park, on Sunday. Manchester families joined 800 friends and supporters at the Zippos Circus in Manchester, laughing with the clowns and “oohing” and “aahing” as they watched the performers.

Camp Simcha and Camp Simcha Special counselors spending the year learning in Israel brought “Simcha Magic” to the Mamila Mall this week. An overflow crowd witnessed campers and their counselors singing and dancing to the “Waving Flags” song performed by the camp in Times Square this summer. (Even those who had not been to camp are familiar with the song: videos of the event have been seen more than 100,000 times on Youtube.) Counselors, campers, and families then marched to the Kotel for Maariv with their flags, chanting and singing all the way. The evening ended with a festive Simchas Bais HaShoeva, complete with a deluxe barbecue, music and the wild dancing for which Camp Simcha summers are known.

“Sukkos is z’man simchaseinu, and we are determined to give families fighting pediatric illness a chance to rejoice in body and spirit. Events like these allow families to forget about illness for a while. They give children a chance to be kids once again, and parents feel extra nachas when they see their boys and girls, in the arms of loving counselors, laughing and playing as if they haven’t a care in the world,” said Rabbi Simcha Scholar, Chai Lifeline’s executive vice president.

He added that the simcha of the events comes from the hundreds of volunteers who give their time throughout the year to make a difference in the lives of Chai Lifeline’s children and their families.

“Their compassion and energy make every day into a holiday for our children. The impact of their love is felt all year long,” he emphasized.

Hello Camp Simcha! It’s been awhile since the last bus rolled out of Glen Spey, but I’m pretty sure I am not the only one who is CONSTANTLY thinking of camp! If you can’t stop thinking of camp either, we’d like to hear your thoughts! Who misses camp the most? What did you love about camp? What was your experience like as a counselor? Campers and counselors, please e-mail your favorite memories to blogs@campsimcha.org, and we’ll put them up as blog posts. Please include your name, or if you would like your post to remain anonymous.Can’t wait to hear from you!

Our last day in Simcha was filled with both happiness and sadness. We spent our time packing, picking up our projects, and getting ready for the Fairy Tale Ball! We had princess parties and ROCKED OUT when Aryeh Kunstler came to camp! His concert was off the hook as his band and uplifting songs kept our feet moving. He really knew how to pump us up and we showed him the Camp Simcha spirit that we are famous for.

After the concert, it was time to get ready for the Banquet. Dressed as princesses and other fairy tale characters, we entered the Ball where we were served the finest food and even champange! (ok… it was really soda)

When the Banquet was over, we headed to the Social Hall for thank you’s and the camp video! After we thanked our incredible staff and wonderful campers, we sat back to relived camp from the first day… Freeze Arrivals…. Chocolate Day… Dynamite Dance… Zombie Zumba… Scuba Diving… Shooting Range… Workshops… New York Trip… Helicopter Rides… and so much more was played back for us to remember and keep locked in our hearts.

Camp Simcha, though tomorrow we leave you, you are forever a part of our lives… we can’t wait to come back next year in Jerusalem where we will all sing and dance together, happy, healthy, and whole, waving our flags and marchin’ our hearts out.

It’s kind of hard to imagine if you were a millionaire in Camp Simcha because out here in Glen Spey, we always feel like millionaires! But that was today’s theme, and the big bucks kept rolling as we once again avoided the rain drops.

Indoors again, we were really excited for an activity that kept us moving: Dance Dance Revolution! Over 20 DDR mats were set up in the gym and everyone got to play the game that kept us movin’ and groovin’ on a huge projector. It was so much fun to try to keep up with the fast-moving arrows!

The night rounded off with a game show of Who Wants to be a Millionaire where we got quizzed on camp trivia and proved that we know our stuff!

It’s hard to believe that tomorrow is the last day of Camp Simcha… we’re having way too much fun!