Not only do Matt and Don Anderson, co-owners of Camp Chautauqua, work each year to make the fundraising event a success, but Matt’s 14-year-old son, Noah, does his share.

“While I’m here in the summer, I work each day at the camp. I’m in charge of collecting the garbage,” said Noah, who actually lives in the Netherlands, but comes to New York during the summer and every school break. “During this weekend, I get the day off and I get to go around and talk with everybody. That’s my favorite part.”

Camp Chautauqua is now in its 13th year of raising funds for Camp Good Days, a camp on Keuka Lake in Branchport, that provides camping experiences for cancer victims and their families.

Camp Good Days strives to improve the quality of life for families affected by cancer or sickle cell anemia through residential camping programs and year-round recreational and support activities held across upstate New York. “Participants have the opportunity to regain some of what cancer has taken away from them,” according to the Camp Good Days website.

James McCauley Jr., Director of Community Initiatives for Camp Good Days, 14-year-old Noah Anderson and Camp Chautauqua co-owner Don Anderson pause for a photo during the Pay-It-Forward event.

This year the Pay It Forward event raised $111,087. Two years ago, more than $91,000 was raised through the event and last year the total exceeded $100,000.

Prior to this year’s auctions Aug. 17, Anderson said he hoped to again raise more than $100,000. However, he knows that many people are struggling because of economic conditions and he was amazed at this year’s result.

“In a world with so much controversy and hatred and division, to see this out of a small campground can make such a difference,” Anderson said. “It’s really a great thing.”

Like Anderson, Noah said the Pay It Forward event is rewarding emotionally. “It feels good to know that people with cancer are getting good times through us,” he said.

Noah also said he enjoys working with the people who make the event happen. “There are so many volunteers that go into making this a success,” he said. “These are people who just come to help us on this day — they are amazing people.”

But the real driving force behind the Pay It Forward event, according to James McCauley Jr., Director of Community Initiatives for Camp Good Days, is Matt Anderson. “It’s the energy that flows from Matt into the people here,” he said. “One has to appreciate that this begins and ends with Matt.”

McCauley went on to explain that Anderson is currently the president of Campgrounds of New York (CONY). Thirteen years ago, when the organization was looking for some way to give back to the community, it was Anderson who suggested that CONY raise money for Camp Good Days.

Since then, more than $1 million has been raised by CONY for the camp, a large percentage of which was raised at Camp Chautauqua.

“Even during COVID, Matt persevered,” McCauley said. “He worked to make sure that the men, women and kids who come to our camp and are suffering, can have good days.”

McCauley related a time that Anderson and fellow camp owners Scott Sherwood and Don Bennett took time off from managing their own campgrounds. They came to Camp Good Days to offer their help. “They came to our campground to do anything that needed doing, whether that was to repair fences or fix plumbing or whatever we needed,” he said.

McCauley noted Camp Good Days is free for all people who suffer from cancer and sickle cell anemia and their family members. “The demand never stops. Cancer is aggressive and is still killing people,” he said. “It’s only through efforts like this, that we can persevere.”

But, in the end it comes down to people like Anderson, McCauley said. “He has such a passion to do the right thing,” he said. “He’s not just the owner of this camp, he’s not just the President of CONY – he’s my friend.”