June 4th Update

We reached our first campaign goal of $5000! With all the momentum and tremendous support we've received for our campaign, we wanted to increase our goal to $7500 to raise the funds to send an additional 5 campers to camp. Thank you for your support and for passing the word of our campaign along! Let's send 5 more kids!

Who We Are:

Camp Kesem at UCLA is a weeklong summer camp for the often-overlooked population of children affected by a parent’s cancer.

Our camp is run by 14 dedicated student leaders, and empowers 75 UCLA student counselors to create a free, life-changing summer camp for 170 children in the Los Angeles area.

Our Camp:

Camp Kesem at UCLA was founded in 2004 and first served children in Southern California in the summer of 2005, with a total camp enrollment of roughly 30 campers.

This is a big year for us. We have grown extraordinarily in the past decade, but this summer--our 10th anniversary--we are expanding to two separate camp sessions.

We are in a unique situation this year in that our ability to send 25 additional children to camp is dependent on the success of our fundraising—particularly via this campaign. 

Your support will enable us to serve so many children who would benefit immensely from attending a magical week of camp with peers that truly understand them.

Camp Kesem gives our campers a week away from the stresses that cancer has imposed upon them and their families and allows these children a chance to just be kids again. While Kesem cannot cure their parents' cancer or erase the impacts it has had on their families, the community, love, and understanding that Kesem provides aims to give them the support to make these challenges more bearable.

An Extraordinary Opportunity for Our Camp: 

We have an extraordinary opportunity to exponentially grow our camp now and in the future. Recently, a beloved, anonymous Foundation announced that they would match all the donations made in our crowdfunding campaign!

The Foundation has agreed to match all gifts to our campaign, dollar for dollar, up to $7,500! This means you can DOUBLE the impact of your gift. With a successful campaign we be able to put $15,000 ($7500 matching + $7500 campaign goal) towards sending 25+ kids to camp entirely free of charge.

How You Can Help:

When you make a donation, you are not just providing financial support. You are becoming a part of this magical Camp Kesem family. You are making arts and crafts, dance/drama, adventure/nature, archery, swimming, the empowerment ceremony, the dance party, the talent show, the night hike, messy olympics, star gazing, s'mores around the campfire, cabin chats, and so much more a reality.

You are creating a life-changing week of camp for a child who truly deserves it.

Please share our campaign on social media! For more information, please check out our website at www.campkesem.org/ucla. To see the magic of camp, click here!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR GENEROUS GIFTS—YOUR SUPPORT WILL MAKE A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE FOR 25 MORE CHILDREN IN LA!

Please share this message to your friends and family on Facebook and Twitter!

                     Thank you for your support!

         

*Images courtesy of Photographer Andrew Ho