BC The Magazine // July/August 2011XX

CAMP DREAM STREETHelps Kids With Cancer SOAR

Living with cancer and other serious blood disorders is not easy, especially if it involves a child. Besides the worry and the medical treatments, there are also the limitations on what one can and cannot do. Sib-lings are affected too, as often the family routine is disrupted and more attention is devoted to the ill child.

Camp Dream Street, a camp for children with cancer and other serious blood disorders, is a weeklong dream come true for young patients to enjoy “just being a kid.” Their siblings are welcome to come join in the fun too, and it’s all for free thanks to the ingenuity of Bergen County resident Pearl Seiden and the generous support of local benefactors.

“Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue, and the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true.”

—Lyman Frank Baum

After losing a dear friend to cancer, Seiden, the current president of Tenafly’s Kaplan JCC on the Palisades, was inspired to create a summer program especially for seriously ill children. Her vision was to provide these children and their siblings with a place where they could enjoy the simple pleasures of be-ing a child at camp. The children would come from all backgrounds and denominations, and to ease the fi-nancial burden for parents, they would attend for free.

Lisa Robins, an Englewood Cliffs native who currently resides in Leonia with her family, ap-proached Seiden about a possible part-time position. With more than 13 years of camp experience, she impressed Seiden with her drive and enthusiasm; Seiden brought Robins on board, and the program has flourished with her as the director for the past nine years. Together, these two women weave their magic, making children not only delightfully happy, but confident in what they can accomplish despite their illness.

Beginning in 1990 with 20 children, the non-denominational weeklong day camp now known as Camp Dream Street has grown to include more than 160 children between the ages of 4 and 14, and is held during one of the last weeks in August. The chil-dren come from Manhattan and New Jersey (includ-ing Newark, Paterson, Englewood and Hackensack) and are often referred to the program by the spon-soring medical centers where they are treated. Par-

ticipants represent a diverse population, with about 70% coming from single parent and economically challenged homes. But there are no divisions when they arrive at Camp Dream Street.

“The older campers help the younger ones and everyone looks out for one another,” said Robins, who noted how the children reached out to teach a blind child a talent routine, and helped to share the fun of Carnival Day with another child, who had dif-ficulty walking.

Parents appreciate the personal attention given to their children–the sick and the healthy. Bergenfield resident Lupe Catala is the mother of a seven-year-old son who is a patient, and a healthy ten-year-old daughter. Both children have attended since 2006 when Catala was introduced to Camp Dream Street by Judy Solomon, the social worker supervisor of the Tomorrow’s Children Institute in Hackensack.

“What I love is that my daughter can’t tell which child is sick and which is the sibling,” said Catala, referring to the fact that counselors treat everyone equally well. However, due to the severity of his ill-ness, her son is assigned a dedicated counselor. “My child is sick, and the counselors and their will-ingness to learn have made an impact on me and my life,” Catala said.

A favorite counselor of Catala’s son put it this way: ”What can I do to make his day better?” Catala also was impressed by the dedication of the coun-

BC The Magazine // July/August 2011 XX

BC The Magazine // July/August 2011XX

selors beyond camp: “One counselor asked if she could help sit for my children. She expected noth-ing in return and just wanted to help.”

Preparation for what many campers have called “the best week ever” begins with months of planning and couldn’t happen without Robins’ army of loyal, long-standing volunteers. “What’s truly remarkable is that during late August, medical specialists and, in particular, medical students who have just completed their 90-hour-a-week residen-cies prefer to come to the camp rather than go to the beach,” said Robins. “They want to make a dif-ference in someone’s life, and they get a lot out of it.”

The program even includes some of the senior citizens Robins supervises in her other programs during the remainder of the year at the JCC. While many may not have the stamina to attend camp all day, they are eager to contribute, lending a hand by reading to the children, serving lunch and help-

ing in other ways. Counselor orientation begins with an intense

information session where they are introduced to the necessary hygiene and safety-related topics. Also discussed are individual camper needs, in-cluding an overview of the activities they may par-ticipate in.

Many of the counselors were once campers themselves. When children turn 15 and are no lon-ger eligible for the program, they are encouraged to volunteer at the camp, and they often work in the kitchen. When they turn 16, they are eligible to start training to be camp counselors, something that many often do. According to Robins, many of her counselors are so affected by their experienc-es at Camp Dream Street that it inspires many of their college essays.

When Monday comes, the excitement is pal-pable, and Robins—armed with her schedule, walkie-talkie and smile—is ready to deliver a week

The Visiting Dogs of Camp Dream Street

At first glance this rambunctious group of campers seems like any other. They smile, sing, tie-dye and tramp through forests with their trusty four-footed companions from the Bright and Beau-tiful Therapy Dogs. Sometimes they sit quietly and just hug the dogs whispering secrets, finding com-fort in the dogs’ soft fluffy coats.

One of the most popular additions to the daily activities at Camp Dream Street, the therapy dog program has grown from simple visits to many op-portunities for animal-assisted therapy. This will be the 10th year that the team of about 20 dogs of all shapes and sizes and their handlers will be vis-iting. They are all certified and receive additional instruction for this unique visit. Since many of the

children are unable to have a dog, this is a great opportunity to learn how to greet a friendly dog, to discuss dog care and safety, and to just have fun.

For more information on training therapy dogs, visit www.caninescando.com; for information on The Bright and Beautiful Therapy Dogs, visit www.golden-dogs.org.

Barking up the right street: therapy dog Duffy makes plenty of friends at Camp Dream Street.

BC The Magazine // July/August 2011 XX

of fun and excitement. Her energy level is contagious. Her staff is eager and ready as the campers make their entrance. Everyone re-ceives a camp shirt with the logo, and it is a sea of happy faces.

What is a typical day like? Making friends is one of the top priorities. Then there’s the sched-ule of all things fun, whether it be rain or shine. Imagine stroll-ing through the woods instead of a hospital corridor, collecting ar-tifacts and making a real fire the Native American way (with a bow and stick). Or participating in the many opportunities to learn how to swim, dance, make crafts, learn to bake, and just be silly playing camp games.

“It’s not about being different; it’s about kids being the same, do-ing normal things that kids do,” em-phasized one of the counselors.

There is Carnival Day, Tal-ent Show Day, and finally the day when the fun ends at the end of the week. “At the end they just don’t want to leave,” Robins remarked.

What are Robins’ dreams for the camp? One of the major spon-sors is the Dream Street Foun-dation, which provides overnight camping experiences for children with cancer and other serious ill-nesses in other parts of the coun-try. She would love to be able to provide an eight-week overnight program in the future. This is cost-prohibitive at the moment, as Camp Dream Street is a non-profit organization and relies on dona-tions to make things happen. How-ever, given her energy and drive, it