Camp Letter, 2020
Dear Friends of Eric’s Camp Fund,
I hope this finds you well and safe and comfortably settled into the new lifestyle in which we find ourselves. When life comes back in a more familiar form, and we know it will, there will be lots of swapping of Covid horror stories to share with the generations to come, for sure. My Covid experience hit rock bottom early on in the pandemic when I received word from the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp on March 26 that all sessions for the summer had been cancelled. Of course they had – and I knew they would but still the jarring reality broke my heart. It’s not that the kids weren’t used to being disappointed or missing fun times or having any sort of control over their lives but usually if they were well enough to sign up for camp, it was a sure thing. Something they could count on and looked forward to all year long. Of course, they received the news with their usual grace. We sent them camp packages with shirts and water bottles and sunglasses and backpacks – not the same as being there, of course, but they’ll be ready for next year, for sure. The camp has done some remarkable programming virtually and I know some of them have participated in those programs.
And then there was the news at Children’s Mercy that volunteer positions would be suspended until further notice. At the same time, the patients were allowed only one adult to be with them and they could no longer leave their rooms or go to the playroom. Again, heartbreaking. We continued to drop off projects to be distributed to the kids – but it was frustrating to know that couldn’t possibly be enough to replace the joy that our wonderful volunteers bring. It occurred to me that Eric, in his eternally optimistic state, would have faced this as an opportunity rather than a setback so when approaching the situation with that mindset, we went to work developing what we think is an even better program for the kids at Children’s Mercy and KU Med until normalcy is restored. We have been putting together bigger, more extensive craft kits that include everything the child will need to create their masterpiece – scissors, markers, glue, glitter, whatever – since it’s more difficult to get those supplies from the playroom. And, to replace our volunteers being there to show them how to complete their project, we have posted a video on our Youtube channel (Eric’s Good Cheer) where a darling volunteer explains the process in a 3-4 minute segment. Instructions on how to access this cinematic masterpiece is on a sticker on their project bag. Okay, this is where I shamelessly divulge that the stars of these shorts are primarily Druten and Shawver grandchildren who deliver the message – along with knock knock jokes and other entertaining segments – with much heart and love. If you have no problem with exploitation and have some young friends that would like to be involved, please contact me and I will find them a gig! A bonus of this whole process is that it gives the stars great pride in being part of cheering up some kids that they know are not as lucky as they are. In addition to Children’s Mercy and KU Med, we are about to expand our distribution to include Children’s Mercy South and perhaps other area hospitals that have pediatric patients but not whole pediatric departments. We have also mailed a few to children we have come to love who no longer come to CM on a regular basis. And we continue to drop off more sophisticated craft kits for the moms that visit the parent center. It’s a very user friendly system – and we think Eric would be pleased.
Missing from this annual update about Eric’s Camp Fund, of course, are the beautiful, joyous faces of the precious campers, truly the best part. So I’ll include a few random shots to
brighten up the message….
Those of you who attended our Happy Camper Hour fundraiser last September will remember beautiful Lily, one of our amazing campers, who sang the camp classic, Stars in the Sky, with her best camp pal, Lexie. And you may remember stories about her from camp letters in past years. Like how she climbed the 32-foot climbing tower like a ninja or how she and Lexie were selected each summer they attended to sing the opening song at the final camp banquet. Her love of camp knows no limits so when she received the letter she is holding in this picture, notifying her that she had been chosen for the LIT Program (Leaders in Training) for the summer of 2020, she was over the moon excited. Of course, that wasn’t meant to be – but the pure joy on her face in this picture will remain in my heart forever.
The kids at Children’s Mercy were really into the Chiefs’ success so making Patrick Mahomes’ hats consumed us for awhile. This little munchkin insisted on sleeping in his, a gesture of support we are certain contributed to their victory.
I’m sure lots of you have participated in drive-by celebrations of one kind or another during these months of social distancing. Typically the average length of the auto parade is about 4 minutes. Well, not for Logan, who turned 17 in May! For an hour and a half cars went down her street with many stopping to hand off signs and gifts and lots of love to this amazing camper who we love so much. We surprised her with this yard sign so NO ONE could possibly miss her celebration. She’s waiting anxiously to get back to school and resume her place in the Shawnee Mission East Marching Band where she plays the saxophone!
Mason is now 9, modeling his new Hole in the Wall Gang t-shirt. In the photo on the right, he was 7 and in a wheelchair. His is a remarkable story of resilience and hope.
One of our favorite video stars, Ruthie Algrim, is displaying just a few of the many crafts we have been offering the kids. From space ships to wind chimes to galaxy jars to picture frames to slime, all projects have been well received. We hope it helps pass the time when days are slow and boring and video games just aren’t enough. In the meantime, our dear volunteers message me each week, expressing how sad they are to be missing the kids. I cannot say it enough but we have the most remarkable, caring volunteers who lose their hearts every time they walk into those halls. We can’t wait to get back!
Since this year there will be no iconic photo of the group, always taken right before we board the bus for that gloomy ride to the Hartford Airport, I thought I’d include our very first group shot from the summer of 1989. I wish I could tell you I remember each of their names but, oddly, I do remember something about each of them. I know that Brandi in the denim shirt had big purple glasses and had recently lost her arm all the way to her shoulder, a situation she referred to as being a little “inconvenient”. I remember that Tyrone gained 9 lbs in the week that he was at camp. And David was in love with a girl from Connecticut after 4 days. Eric was the star of his cabin’s skit. The girl in the green shorts got a letter from her mother every single day. The boy on the right saw a horse for the very first time. I remember that they were happy and enthusiastic and full of fun. They were kind and talented and hopeful. Ironically, if we had a picture to share this year, I guarantee I could say the very same thing about those kids. I’ve been accused of always claiming the current year to be the best year ever – and know it was true of the summer of 1989. The best part was that Eric was there, proudly looking over these kids whose lives had been changed by his wish to share the magical Hole in the Wall Gang Camp with kids who had gotten a truly rotten deal. He wanted to share his good fortune with others and his kindness and vision have brought joy to more than 300 campers through the years and thousands of kids at Children’s Mercy and KU Med Center through Good Cheer. I love telling people the story of how we got started – especially when I add, oh, and by the way, he was 15 years old at the time! Thank you for helping us keep Eric’s dream alive so we will be able to send you pictures of these beautiful faces for years to come.
Stay safe and be well.
With love,
Patsy