ParentSpace Blog

Please send your articles/comments/letters about camp to webmaster@campsimcha.org so we can post them on the blog.
Thank you to whoever already submitted articles. Keep them coming-we love hearing from you!

By Esther Kallus, RN

I have always heard about the amazing things that Chai Lifeline does, in particular their summer camp for children with chronic and genetic diseases and for children battling cancer.  I had the privilege and honor of working as a nurse for Camp Simcha special girls and boys this past summer 2011.  I cannot begin to describe what a phenomenal place Camp Simcha is; that it is just mind blowing.

At first when you see such delicate children and the impeccable care that is needed for them, you wonder how parents can allow and trust their children to be away from their 24/7 keen care.  However once you see what goes on at this camp; you have no further questions.

Camp Simcha is a fully fun loaded camp equipped with a state of the art medical facility with top doctors who are experts in their fields and of course nurses, medics, Pharmacist, PT, Social Worker, and child friendly specialist too.

I witnessed firsthand the joy and happiness the campers experience while at camp.  Here at Camp Simcha, they are able to live as any other kid.  Not only do they have the time of their life, they make lifetime friends who can understand where they are coming from, since they share some common ground.

All in all, there is not a single dull moment at Camp Simcha.  From morning to night you get to see these children smiling from ear to ear, and there is nothing else more satisfying than being able to watch and be a Part of something this SPECIAL.

Congratulations to Camp Simcha Girls who officially broke the world record for the longest awareness ribbon at 408.55 m (1,340 ft 4.8 in). Check it out over here: Guinness World Records

By Shlomo Mandel
Original Article: Aish.com

Please send your articles/comments/letters about camp to webmaster@campsimcha.org so we can post them on the blog!

I arrived at Camp Simcha, a summer program for kids with special needs and severe illnesses, as a counselor. It would be my first time working with kids who have debilitating illnesses, and I was a bit hesitant. Will my camper be in a wheelchair? What kind of sickness does he have? Will I be able to bond with him? At 18 years old, the only person I had ever really paid attention to was none other than me, myself and I. How would I possibly take care of someone else for two weeks and be happy?

When my co-counselor and I received our camper’s profile, my jaw dropped. There were pages and pages of medications, machines and information about his illness and disabilities – Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus, to name a few – as well as lengthy instructions for attending to his morning and nighttime routines.

He has a trachea?! He cannot speak? I have to give his medications through a g-tube?! What am I, a doctor? Such a fragile child at only 5 years old. A jumble of doubts filled my mind as I pondered what I had gotten myself into.

After gathering some additional information, we were ready for our first night routine. It took two hours to set up all his machines and administer his medications, when finally he was ready for a peaceful night’s sleep. Or so we thought. He had only been sleeping for a few hours when the beeping started on his pulsox machine, informing us that his oxygen intake was going down drastically. His first night with us and we already have trouble?!

Sweat poured down my face. I ran to the phone and called the infirmary requesting assistance. Medical staff was relayed to our location and within a few moments they were on site. Looking for our problem they tracked all the wiring and buttons, until they found that the oxygen wire that hooks up to his vent wasn’t connected properly. Immediately it was fixed and his oxygen started climbing back to normal.

Over the next week, I learned from my mistakes, perfected my routines, and gained the confidence that with a stellar medical staff by my side, I could provide the proper care. Sure, we had a few more incidents, some quite scary, but at least I was properly prepared.

The two weeks went by fast, filled with fun and amazing activities: a visit from NBA star Steve Nash, a magician from “America’s Got Talent,” helicopter rides, and spectacular concerts.

Before I knew it, it was all coming to a close.

We gathered in the social hall on the last night for video highlights of the prior two weeks. Everyone sat, eyes riveted to the screen, as we relived the dancing, singing and joy that we’d all experienced.

To cap off the evening, all the counselors were given a bag of treats to give their campers as a goodbye gift. In return, the campers were requested to give back one thing: a hug.

I gave my camper his goody bag, and he responded with an enormous embrace. At that moment, an immense joy seized me like a flash of lightning, and I let it all in.

Yes, we had amazing fun the past 14 days. But I never really had time to process what had transpired. For the past two weeks I gave myself totally to this kid. I took responsibility to be there for him at every moment. Day or night, no matter the cost. Yet since my camper could not speak, he never able to express how he was having an amazing time and how much he appreciated my care.

But when I hugged him and saw that big smile on his face, though, I got the message loud and clear. And I became overwhelmed with a joyous realization: the big “I” finally experienced life’s ultimate pleasure: the pleasure of pure giving.

CSB 2011 has officially come to an end.

Oh, the memories that we shared this summer… epic eleven…arrivals…skyriders…The American Revolution…new recording studio…steaks…8 th day concert…air elite…”1-2-3 oh snap”..mad science…cookie monster baking…steve max…frog hat…satlanim…chimichuri…shooting range…capture the flag…castles in the dining room…medieval supper outside…Roderick Russel x2…sword swallowing…spinning car in the dining room…hypnotist show…car washing…carlebach Friday night…coby iPods…lifeguards v waiters…middos awards… tuna beigels…seudat shelishit and havdalah on the porch…I got a feelin’…epicification…circus parade…Dr. Lenny water fight…jabali African acrobats……challa baking… motzei shabbos in the house tonight…witch hunt…tonight tonight…extreme magic show…Hogwarts…stamp on the ground…ny trip…simcha at liberty…lighting up the darkness…dance tutorial on the bus…yehuda greene surprise…coco water oark…martz trailways……don’t be that guy…fencing…karate…paint twister…candle making… slackers…ductagami…dance dance revolution…scuba diving in the pool…new rock climbing wall…S.T. Rella… good shabbos…Shabbat shalom…family feud… birthday cake faceplant…eli kk…pottery…”all stars”…css rollers…:can you tie them in a knot…deal day…laser tag…hat making…free presents…sweet shop… fitted caps…fireworks… darkroom…bingo…new niggun… jetskis… great wall of graffiti …duuuuvi becker yisroel…stall for time…helicopter rides…good shtickel…portraits…carousel in the dining room…awesome blog 😉 …mafia…party rock anthem..arts and crafts…small piece of heaven…leather…hurricane…color war…get ready for Simcha ’12 in Jerusalem. Wow! We did a lot!!

The Musical, S.T Rella, was of course a fantastic hit! Produced by Duvy “The Legend” Becker, it featured great performances by our amazing campers and staff. For the grand finale, three campers sung “All Stars” that merited an encore performance. Stay tuned for the amazing video highlights.

The New York trip was one for the books. Our dance in front of the Statue of the Liberty, to the song “Lighting up the Night”, showed the world that Camp Simcha is the true beacon of light. With our torches waving, we faced the world and showed them how strong we are and how strong we will be. And don’t let that overshadow the rest of the amazing trip. From the boat ride, to the surprise Yehuda Green concert, to the CoCo water park, it was a day that will be remembered deep into the winter.

To keep the memories of the session alive, and to publicize our message, our camp worked together to create our music video. Our campers spent time learning the choreographed dance, and then reaped satisfaction after mastering it in front of Lady Liberty. They also worked together to record it in our brand new on campus recording studio.

All the friends we made, the lasting bonds we created…

Now home safe and sound, our unbelievable campers now have memories to last till next summer to keep them going strong and happy. They now have the strength of confidence of a summer in Camp Simcha to help through the year which we hope to fill with so much fun they won’t have time to miss camp.

And to our amazing Camp Simcha staff…. this summer would not have been possible without you. Your countless hours of work, intense devotion, and unending love was palpable every second of our time in camp. Your dedication to your work and to our campers is truly an inspiration. There are no words for what you did, for the children you renewed, for the memories you created and for everything else that you did.

So yes, the last bus may have rolled out of Glen Spey, taking with it our incredible camper,s but we know it won’t be long till we see them again…

Stay tuned for more exciting posts here… this may be the Camp blog, but just because Camp is over, it doesn’t mean we won’t keep you posted on all the great things that we experienced and the even greater things to come

It was the last day of camp, yet we were pumping at full throttle here in SimchaVille. Not even a hurricane could stop us. In fact, it led to the first color war in Camp Simcha history!

The morning started off a bit blustery, but the generators were doing their job and we had full power throughout camp. We all headed to the dining room for breakfast followed by an unbelievable EPIC 11 upROAR. Dembi then told us to gather around the TV so we can watch updates about the hurricane. But instead of announcing the weather, the meteorologist told us that it was color war! Everyone immediately changed into red or blue clothes and painted their face. Pretty soon, everyone was so engrossed in color war that no one noticed the storm outside. We spent the day doing many different color war activities including races, ball games, and cheering.  Towards the end of the afternoon, both teams gathered with their generals to practice the cheer and theme songs.

After the team time, we all headed back to our bunks to pack. At 5pm we were called to the dining hall for the banquet. And a banquet it was.  There was a hot carving station, onion rings, sesame chicken, Hawaiian chicken, chicken lo mein, sweet and sour chicken, bar-b-que ribs, assorted dips, and fresh fruit.

After we were stuffed to the gills, we headed to the social hall for the closing ceremonies. Dembi started off the show by naming and thanking every staff member in camp. First the waiters, then lifeguards, then specialties, medical and nursing staff, administrative staff, and maintenance staff. Each group got a well-deserved standing ovation. Dembi then called up the counselors, by division, and asked them to pick up a present from the stage. He went on to thank the counselors for their tireless efforts over the past two weeks on behalf of their camper. He told the campers that the only payment their counselors wanted is a thank you-in the form of a hug. At his count of three, every counselor handed over the present to his camper, and every camper reciprocated with a long embrace. It was an event you had to witness.

Dembi went on to thank the campers for being an inspiration for us all, and for giving us the most epic session ever!

We then settled into our seats to watch a slideshow of the summer, and then the CS 2011 Memories movie.

At the end of the evening, Dembi once again told us that Lady Liberty is the embodiment of freedom for the world. Her glowing torch burns even through the toughest of times. He went on to explain that this year, Camp Simcha will show the world what true freedom is. Our torches and our camp are the true beacons in the darkness. We went on to sing our song “Lighting up the Night – Simcha at Liberty,” in unison, one last time.

There is still yet to come. Check our blog daily for updates.

Getting a satellite view of Camp Simcha from Google Earth is very cool. You get to klutz in your chair, stare at a screen, and press the zoom button to see our gorgeous camp grounds (see here).

This morning, however, our amazing campers got to do something a bit more exciting. A helicopter came in from NYC to Camp Simcha, landed in middle of camp, and every camper got to board and get a ride. It was a really cool experience to get a birds eye view of the Happiest Place on Earth. To go along with the occasion, every camper got a special Camp Simcha Helicopter t-shirt. The squeals of delight were able to be heard even over the roaring whirl of the helicopters propellers!

The ironic thing, however, was the fact that today we also escaped to an even higher orbit – outer space. When our campers entered the dining room for lunch, the were met by flying UFOs, aliens, and astronauts. After our lunch epicification, we headed to the social hall. What we saw there was out of this world! Our campers got to watch our new music video, Lighting up the Night (http://bit.ly/simcha). The campers coming out of the social hall were ecstatic.

Throughout the afternoon our campers also got to bake challah for Shabbos. Every camper also posed for a portrait taken by a professional photographer. They should receive the picture before they leave camp.

Did I mention that…

It’s Friday, Friday

Gotta get down on Friday

Everybody’s lookin’ forward to the weekend, weekend

Friday, Friday

Gettin’ down on Friday

Everybody’s lookin’ forward to the weekend

Partyin’, partyin’ (Yeah)

Partyin’, partyin’ (Yeah)

Fun, fun, fun, fun

Lookin’ forward to the weekend

Our 2011 Camp Simcha Music Video, ‘Lighting Up The Night’ feat. Statue of Liberty, has arrived! Enjoy. Make sure to share it with your friends; you can use this shorter address: http://bit.ly/simcha

Reprinted with permission from the NY Times

Tonight, Camp Simcha performed its very own theatrical production, S. T. Rella. The show was a beautiful composition of drama, dance, and song. Our very own Duvi Becker, who started writing the show when there was still snow falling in Camp Simcha, directed the production.

The show follows S.T Klein-Kaufman (Eli Lipschitz), our busy camp office manager, as she gets freed from her office by mistakenly drinking a “coffee” that was left on her desk. Initially, she is ecstatic that she can finally get out of her stressful cubicle and leave camp. But as the show progresses, she meets various people who convince her that Camp Simcha is the best place on Earth.

The show featured many different types of dance styles, including: break dancing, free-style, tricotee, bergamask. In one of the first scenes, camper Luke W. sung A Whole New World while sitting on a carpet that was suspended in the air. For the break dancing scene, campers and staff joined together to create an unforgettable dance routine to the song Party Rock Anthem. The show also featured a beautifully choreographed dance to the song Seize the Day (Newsies).

The scenery and costumes were surreal, and helped complement the show’s song and dance. In one scene, S.T meets some realistic cannibals in the forest. She manages to escape as they all break into dance to the song “Higher.” The dance received a standing ovation and merited an encore performance. The play closed with an unforgettable rendition of All Star by campers Bennet, Danny, and Charlie. That performance merited an encore as well.

The play had many original scores, including “Simchonian Rhapsody” and “A Small Piece of Simcha.” They were all recorded in our brand new, on campus, recording studio. (Listen Here)

A musical like S.T. Rella makes us proud to be part of Camp Simcha. The super-talented staff here put on a play unlike any other being performed in myriad camps across the Catskills. The uniqueness of Duvi Becker’s vision puts his productions in a league of their own. Concepts and ideas that began as a seed in Duvi’s head, find their way into reality and onto a stage via the cast that we saw perform tonight. However, it is Duvi’s tenacity and unflagging enthusiasm that makes it happen. Not just makes it happen, but happen in such a way as to garner four standing ovations and three calls for encores from an audience that is not easily impressed. But the true litmus test was the ear-to-ear smiles sported by every single person seated in the Social Hall.

A play is just…well…a play. A musical, however, is a way to reach the audience’s emotions through song and dance, a medium that has proven itself to be among the most effective in shaping moods. Spirits lift, dark clouds clear, and the world is simply a better place after watching a musical performed by a passionate, dedicated crew like the one we witnessed. And what makes it all the more anomalous is the setting of this presentation. A natural by-product of Camp Simcha’s one-of-a-kind program is the togetherness and camaraderie that it engenders. That is something that we saw mirrored in the cast’s attitude. Rather than as a task, they viewed this work as a fun-filled challenge to be taken on with friends, among friends. Even more than the subject content, the manner in which S.T. Rella was executed makes us feel privileged to be a part of the world that is Camp Simcha.

Whooah!!! What a magical day!

Today, Camp Simcha had double the amount of fun as our program directors juggled both an escape to Disney World, as well as Deal Day. For those who don’t know, Deal Day is a DisneyWorld worthy experience in which members of the Deal community come down to camp and shower our campers with tons of free gifts and activities.

After finishing their tasty lunch, the Dealers joined us in the center of the dining room where we showed them some Lunch EPICification. After observing just a few moments of our upROAR, they were thoroughly convinced that they are supporting the best possible cause. Many of them couldn’t resist the energy and opted to join in. We put on quite an intense show for our guests, with campers and staff bouncing, screaming, singing, and dancing like there was no tomorrow. Of course our in-house band helped EPICify the environment by playing the most pumping Camp Simcha Special like music possible.

From lunch, we went to four awesome Deal-assisted activities. At some point in the afternoon, every camper did one of the following amazing things. The first was Buzz Lightyear Laser Tag. One of our wonderful Deal volunteers came down, and outfitted the gym with many obstacles. Every camper was then put on a team, given a color (orange or green) and a gun, and let loose to have an awesome time. The second activity was hat making. Our campers had a great time as they chose a hat, and then decorated it with graffiti, buttons, or whatever met their fancy. There were some pretty funky fedoras and caps around camp. The third activity was karaoke.

The fourth activity was not like anything I’ve ever witnessed. Our campers were given a duffel bag, and were let loose in a room full of gifts. They were able to take whatever they (and their counselor…and their rotator…and whoever else they commissioned) could carry out. There were backpacks, sandals, t-shirts, shorts, sweatpants, pillows, stuffed animals, and various electronics. The campers came out looking like they’ve won the lottery.

After supper, we headed to this summer’s musical, S.T Rella. Our campers felt like they were at a Broadway show. They walked in on a red carpet, and we’re served Hors d’oeuvres by waiters clad in tuxes. Read more about the amazing musical in the official review coming soon to this blog.

And to cap off this magical day, we all headed to the baseball field wear we had front row seats to an amazing fireworks display. With whizzing, flashing, and crackling above us, we linked arms and sung in the true Camp Simcha spirit.

What a day!

Today was one big EPICsplosion of color. Camp Simcha escaped to the Crayola Factory, and boy did we paint the town! Breakfast was a potpourri of every shade and hue, as staff and campers dressed up in the most vibrant colors. The Great Wall of Graffiti quickly lived up to its name as we livened it up with tons of Crayola crayons and markers. Towards the end of lunch, we all gathered in the middle of the dining room where we heard a rockin’ concert from our own personal band: The American Revolution. And although we were a bit lazy after our awesome trip yesterday, our campers still danced, climbed on staff members’ shoulders, and screamed in an Epic Eleven rendition of uproar.

From there, our awesome campers went to four consecutive action-packed activities. Coby decided to visit the candle workshop where he made his own personal candle (candle=wax=crayon=Crayola=> how cool is that?). He created a Pumpkin Orange dye for the top of his candle, a Pansy Purple middle, and a Baby Blue bottom. In another workshop, some lucky campers got to “paint” and decorate a cake…and then eat their artwork of course!

The baseball field was the site of smearing and sloshing gallons of (hopefully) washable paint onto every conceivable surface; just ask Jonah. It originally started off as an Epic Twister game, in which the board were plates full of paint. Pretty soon, however, everyone turned to the super fun activity of body painting and “embodying” Crayola. And if you didn’t get involved yourself, plenty of staff members were around to give bear hugs in order to spread the wealth.

Throughout the day, there were two awesome special activities that every division had a chance to partake in. The first was group Dance Dance Revolution. A professional DJ group came down to camp and set up over 30 dance mats in the gym. We then had a blast as we watched the moves scroll up on the huge screen and competed for the highest score. It was a really great workout for us as we twisted and contoured into very interesting shapes. The levels progressed, and the moves got faster, but our great campers managed to keep up. It was very apparent that everyone was having a mighty fine time. The other special activity was scuba diving in the pool. We were all fitted with body skins, flippers, oxygen tanks, and face masks, and went below water. We were able to stay underwater for as long as we wanted as we engaged in some very fun activities. We searched for small things that were thrown in by the supervisor, and played many games including Shark and Minnow.

To start off the night, our campers squared off in a live rendition of family feud. In the process we learned that the four most custom ordered thing in camp are fries, onion rings, pizza, and pizza rolls; Dembi always wears his frog hat, and dirty socks (?); and that the best workshop in camp is ductagami. For our post night-activity activity, our divisions split up and did something meaningful.

Our youngest division, The Twisters, headed to the porch of the dining room. It was there that they created tie-die shirts. When they finished their artwork, they huddled around a fire, sung songs, and roasted smores. Our next division, The Bouncers, headed outside where they had Epic astronomy and stargazing on the hill. And our oldest, division headed out to the field where they sat around a bonfire and shared their experience in the fight against illness.