Trending
"More than 609,000 people die of cancer each year in the United States," said Matt Anderson, co-owner of Camp Chautauqua in Stow. "You just look at the crowd and see all the people diagnosed with cancer each year and it just keeps pushing you to do something."
Anderson takes "doing something" very seriously, by raising more than $91,000 last year to support Camp Good Days, a residential summer camp which provides camping experiences for people whose lives have been touched by cancer.
For 12 years now, Anderson has spear-headed a fund raising drive through the Campgrounds of New York(CONY) organization to benefit Camp Good Days. In those years, Campgrounds of New York has raised more than $1 million, perhaps half of which has came from Camp Chautauqua itself.
The whole thing began when members of CONY were discussing how to make their organization better known to the public, Anderson said. "I said, why don't we have a fundraiser to help those with Cancer and it took off from there,'
Throughout each year, Anderson said, patrons of the campground and businesses donate things to the camp for this event. On the Pay It Forward weekend, the camp holds a silent auction, 50-50 drawing, a Chinese auction and a live auction. There are also games and music by a disc jockey. This year, Anerson will be sportiing pink hair as a sign of raising cancer awareness.
Camp Good Days, whose recreational facility is on Keuka Lake in Branchport, started out in 1979 as a camp for children with cancer. But they soon began welcoming adults diagnosed with cancer, as well, said James McCauley, Jr., Director of Community Initiatives.
"We hold oncology camps year round," he said. All of the programs and services provided by the camp are offered free of charge for the participants, McCauley noted, and that is possible because of the generosity of so many individuals and organizations and the success of special fundraising events like this one.
Anderson noted that the event is not open to the public, but only to those who are patrons of the camp. 'We tried having it open to the public. However, many people were just coming in to use the facilities, such as the pool,' he said.
Shortly after the event, the camp will begin soliciting donations for next year, Anderson said. 'We start pushing for next year right away,' he said. 'We don't take a breath to think about it, we just keep moving.'
On the day of the event, Anderson said his main emotions are gratitude and appreciation. "At the end of the day, I look at my kids and they are healthy. I'm very fortunate," he said. "This is a way to pay it forward."