ParentSpace Blog

Last weekend, our Camp Simcha girls reunited for a Purim themed weekend which transported everyone to ancient Persia. The girls were amazed by the strange and beautiful sight of our entire campus covered in snow! [singlepic id=6704 w=520 h=440 float=right]Campers created tambourines, beautiful beaded headpieces, perfume, and airbrushed sweatshirts. The Skyriders were on hand and amazed our girls with their trampoline skills. The Skyriders were awesome, but they paled in comparison to the wonderful performance of the Purim story performed by our very own campers.

On Sunday, the winners of our Simchaspace contests were announced-congratulations to Shira, Julie, and Avigail, who all won Simchaspace sweatshirts! (Want to win a sweatshirt? Check out Simchaspace!) As our girls said their goodbyes, they left Glen Spey with memories and strength to carry them through the rest of the year. Four more months-we’ll see you guys again then! Plenty of time for the snow to melt 🙂

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Chai Lifeline’s annual trip to Israel, Wish at the Wall, is sponsored by the Hartman Family Foundation and is organized by our Midwest region. Wish at the Wall treats teens who have completed their treatment for cancer or who have learned to successfully manage complex chronic illnesses to an incredible ten day trip to Israel.

Dear Chai Lifeline Volunteer,

I am writing this letter after a very thought provoking Shabbos. I realized this past week something about our CLL volunteers. These are young men and women that put their own life on hold on many occasions to be here for our kids and families. I guess I just wanted to take a minute to publicly acknowledge all that you guys do for us. I mean the behind the scenes preparation for every single event, The dropping everything you are doing to be with our kid in the hospital,  the answering text messages and phone calls for your camper or any camper that calls and texts you even when you might really be busy and much rather continue on your personal life. Even being here for us parents  when we need to talk or cry…. You are here for us. I know it must get exhausting and I wonder if sometimes you feel unappreciated. I have to apologize. As a parent I think we also put an insurmountable extra pressure on you when it’s our kid that needs attention that day. We have this idea that our kid is the only camper that needs you. We want you at our house. You must feel so torn at times. How unfair of me and any other parent to be so selfish.  Please understand and forgive us. We are parents going through a tough time. We are struggling to keep it together and some days you are who we count on. I am sorry for the extra pressure , you most certainly do not need it. But boy am I ever so grateful you are here. I cannot imagine life without you. Please know even if we don’t thank you every day that we appreciate EVERYTHING you do. It does NOT go unnoticed. We realize that you make so many sacrifices just for our kids momentary happiness. I hope that you will continue your great work and always remember how much we truly appreciate you. I hope when you lay in bed at night you are able to think of the many mitzvos you have done each day for our families. So please know we get it, we see your effort and your unselfish dedication. We think you are absolutely amazing. Continue the great work. May G-d continue to bless you with strength to keep going and do such amazing things.

With complete Sincere Appreciation …… what you do is noticed on every level!

A Chai lifeline Parent

Attn campers, staff, and parents: We LOVE hearing from you! If you have something to say, e-mail your blog post to webmaster@campsimcha.org

Dear Chai Lifeline,

When you have a kid with a lifelong medical and physical condition there are
many trying moments. Hospital visits, doctor appointments, therapies and
missing school are just part of your normal life. You dream of the
milestones and hope your child reaches them. Friends are hard to come by.
Most people shy away from our kids. They are scared of the wheelchair,
medical equipment and afraid to attach themselves to someone with a life
threatening condition. But not at Chai lifeline and Camp Simcha! You love
our kids unconditionally.

All year Adam waits for camp. He knows during those two weeks he is free to
be a kid. He is accepted for who he is as a person. He is regarded as the
fun, wild crazy kid not the kid in the wheelchair. At camp Simcha he forgets
about his disabilities and discovers his abilities. I mean he swims, boats,
does a ropes course, archery, flies in a helicopter, dances and the list
goes on. Last summer was by far his best summer at camp to date. It was
EPIC! He was so sad to leave and come home. These guys are not just his
friends but his brothers. We can count on them all year long. We live across
the country but somehow these guys are able to lift Adam’s spirits and keep
him going through e-mails, text messages, skyping, phone calls and facebook.
Last February Adam had surgery and he was fortunate to have two guys from
the east coast here for all his pre-op appointments, Shlomo and Foxy, they
came with us to the hospital and held Adam’s hand through the icky stuff.
They made him laugh and kept him distracted. Then they took him to
Disneyland and treated him to an amazing day with some of his siblings!
Shlomo accompanied Adam the morning of surgery in pre-op and all the way
until the OR. I cannot tell you what a difference it makes in our lives to
have a Chai Lifeline volunteer by our sides during these emotional scary
medical moments. Adam needed to have his counselor there by his side holding
his hand as they put in his IV and prepared him for surgery and even better
when he came out and saw Shlomo in post-op. Shlomo sat next to his hospital
bed and held his hand and that made his pain go away! When Adam had to have
another emergency surgery in May although there was no way to get his
counselor there in time, We had davening taking place all over as the word
got out that a CLL kiddo was not doing well. This is what CLL is all about.

Three weeks ago was an amazing time for our family as Adam became a Bar
Mitzvah along with his quadruplet siblings. This was a milestone we never
thought he would make. The doctors original prognosis at birth was grim and
life at 13 seemed a fantasy. Yet he made it and we celebrated that proud
moment .
We live in Southern California, that means there are like no guys around. We
knew that Adam would not have the usual Camp Simcha style Bar Mitzvah
celebration with all the guys and party like crazy costumes and dancing. I
had prepared Adam that he would not have his counselor there either.
Understandably we live too far and these guys are all in school. Then to our
complete shock in walked Adams absolutely crazy amazing counselor, Shlomo.
It was like a dream. We couldn’t speak. There are no words to describe the
happiness in our hearts and the smile on Adam’s face. You see if Shlomo
would not have shown up I am not sure who he would have hung out with.
Shlomo danced with Adam on his shoulders and treated him to a Camp Simcha
Style night better than we could have imagined. Ok so it was only one guy
but he ROCKED it Epic camp simcha style!

This past weekend we got to experience some more of the Chai lifeline’s Love
as we participated in TEAM LIFELINE and ran the Miami Marathon for Chai
Lifeline. There we were with over 300 runners running for the Chai lifeline
kids. I was absolutely blown away by the love and energy oozing from these
people. I was even more inspired to run after meeting people that were
running for CLL kids and had no connection whatsoever other than they wanted
to help our kids. Adam was able to spend the whole weekend with over 20 camp
simcha staff. They treated him like a king. The boys carried his wheelchair
across the sand of the Miami Beach and took him in the ocean. They played
ping pong, took him swimming ,and hung out with him all weekend long. These
boys were on vacation they did not have to take any of their time to be with
Adam, yet they did! Then on marathon day Adam’s counselor along with many
guys by his side pushed Adam in a wheelchair the entire half marathon and at
the end lifted him out of the chair and carried him on his shoulders to
cross the finish line, It was so touching. If that wasn’t enough, after
running 13.1 miles Shlomo made sure to help Adam with tefilla by assisting
him in putting his tefillin on for davening. Then carried Adam onto the bus
to go back to the hotel.

This is the love and magic of the Chai lifeline volunteers.

What can I say to you, thank you is not enough. The gift that you give our
kids and our family is priceless. We could not imagine going through life
without the love and support of Chai lifeline. Your volunteers are the most
incredible, selfless, loving people ever. These are young men and women that
could be doing countless other things in their lives and yet choose to spend
their time helping our sick kids. My heart is filled with joy and
gratefulness.

Just as we were leaving Miami, Adam mentioned to a girl volunteer from LA
that he will be in the hospital in two weeks and she said,” What day? I will
spend the day with you there !” They had just met for the first time over
the weekend! That’s CLL. These people are amazing.
Thank you for all you do. You give our kids and our families the love,
support and inspiration to keep going even when it seems too tough.

Everything you do is a kiddush hashem!

With Deep Appreciation and Gratitude,

Ali Wolf
( Adam’s mom)
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The Queens Friends N’ Fun Weekend hosted by Eli and Chedva Rowe was a roaring hit. An amazingly lavish Shabbos full of activities was followed by a gala Melava Malkah with a concert by Lipa Schmeltzer and Yaakov Shwekey. Participants went home with official weekend winter coats and each camper received a Paper Jamz Guitar. Most important of all, everyone left with smiles on their faces and memories to keep them strong through the winter. Many thanks to the Rowe family and all the families in the community who hosted our extended Chai Lifeline family. A big thank you to those who spent many months planning this event, the amazing medical staff, and our counselors for their dedication.

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It’s been a jam-packed week full of Hanukkah parties, surprises, and fun throughout the country as our Chai Lifeline regions kicked off a fabulous start to Hanukkah 2011!

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In New York, hundreds of people gathered at the Tiferes Mordechai hall for an exciting party featuring Avraham Fried and the Incredible Bubble Man. In Jersey’s Yeshivah Ketanah, our children enjoyed an Uncle Moishy show, a gymnastics display, and a concert by Dovid Gabay. Over in the Southeast region, a ventriloquist performed for our kids. The night was complete with Camp Simcha style dancing, Hanukkah crafts, and of course some good ol’ fashioned draidel spinning. The Skokie Valley Synagogue in the Midwest enjoyed a mesmerizing show by magician Dennis Watkins. Our West Coasters were entertained by a wild animal show and Chanukah-themed crafts. Finally, (though not exactly in this country, but close enough!) hundreds attended a fun-filled evening up in Canada that included whirly-ball, a bubble show, wild animals, bowling, laser tag, arcade games, and a bouncy castle.
Of course, all of our children went home with Chanukah gifts galore. (Did you SEE the size of those gift boxes?!)

Wishing you and your family a Happy Hanukkah from all of us at Camp Simcha and Chai Lifeline!

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A great sage once said: “Whoever has not seen the EPICness of Camp Simcha has not seen EPICness in his life!”

Today, Camp Simcha moved East as campers and staff from all sessions joined together for a Sukkot celebration in the Old City of Jerusalem.

The festivities started at 2:30 at the Kotel where we all gathered together to say some prayers for the children of Chai Lifeline/Chaiyainu. We then all walked through the Old City, singing and dancing in true Camp Simcha spirit. At one point, we stopped in middle of the Jewish Quarter, sat down, and joined together in a moving kumzits (defined here). We then made our way to the party at Kikar Bait Machsa.

It was there that we had a chance to finally sit down and catch up with our friends from camp. We were served a delicious meal, and we’re offered fresh popcorn and cotton candy. After we had caught our breath, the music once again started. We were treated to a special performance by Amiran and Arik Dvir and their band. Our campers’ excitement was palpable as they climbed on staff members’ shoulders or were hoisted up in their wheelchairs. Many of the spectators couldn’t resist the energy and opted to join in. We put on quite an intense show for the Old City, with campers and staff bouncing, screaming, singing, and dancing like there was no tomorrow.

A teacher once complained to a parent of one of his students about how the boy never behaved well in class. The teacher recommended putting the boy on Ritalin. The father responded that he leaves work early in the morning and wouldn’t be able to give the boy the Ritalin. The teacher told the father that he will give the boy the Ritalin.

In order to avoid embarrassing the boy, every day the teacher asked the boy to leave the class to make him coffee; he told the boy to take the pill while on his mission. A few weeks later the teacher called the father and sang the boy’s praises. The boy had become so wonderful that he was now the best in the class. The father was so proud of his son. When the boy arrived home, the father asked him what had changed. Why has the teacher suddenly began praising him? The boy responded that he didn’t do anything drastic, but that everyday his teacher would send him to make a coffee and the boy would slip these pills in the coffee.

This time of year we return to G-d. We attempt to fix our ways. We attempt to emulate G-d’s kindness. G-d wants us to see each other in good light. If we judge our brothers favorably then G-d will judge us favorably.

In the world of Chai Lifeline and Camp Simcha, we don’t judge. We see past illness to a soul. We see past an action to a soul. When the teacher was “suddenly” happy, he was able to see the good in his student. When we are happy, we are able to find the good in each other and truly love.

This is the message of Camp Simcha. Seize life, Love fully, Live Joyfully. If you embody these ideals , they undoubtedly will spread to the next person and allow him to live a more happy life. May the happiness and light we radiate daily give us merit in G-d’s eyes, and may he look at us favorably as well.

May all those who need salvation receive it speedily and may the world know of no more illness and sadness.

With wishes for a great year,

Ari Dembitzer

Camp Simcha’s Guinness World Records™ Gold Ribbon was raised this morning in Central Park in honor of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Camp Simcha kids, their parents, counselors, and the amazing students of PS 290 (Manhattan New School) joined us for the event. Thank you all.

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Three boys currently undergoing treatment for cancer received the trip of a lifetime this weekend thanks to generous benefactors. The 4-day trip to Israel was planned and executed from begging to end by the generous sponsors and included visits to prominent Rabbis for blessings, a BBQ with Camp Simcha counselors studying abroad, and a visit to a shooting range. The group was accompanied by a doctor, nurse, and paramedic.

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