Sunrise Highlights
We are so grateful to all of our donors who make our mission possible.
Fill-Up for Good to Benefit Children with Cancer Through Jericho Wholesale’s Participation in “The Giving Pump” at Local Shell Stations
The Sunrise Association is proud to be the beneficiary of Jericho Wholesale LLC’s partnership with Shell Oil Company on “The Giving Pump,” a nation-wide initiative focused on driving positive change in local communities by giving back to local charities. Now underway and running through September 30th – coinciding with Childhood Cancer Awareness Month – a portion of your purchase will support the children of the Sunrise Association! To find a station near you in the NY Metropolitan area, please click HERE. You can’t miss these pumps as they’re specially designed with colorful Sunrise signage and a video inspiring customers to fuel up and support our children. Please take a photo, tag Sunrise Association, Sunrise Day Camp-Long Island and/or Sunrise Day Camp-Pearl River and together let’s fill up for Sunrise!
Across the U.S., over 3,000 Shell stations are participating in this two-month initiative. “Jericho Wholesale LLC looks for opportunities to support organizations that truly epitomize our value as a company,” said Adam W. Wolf, Vice President. “The Sunrise Association, through its many programs and camps, do amazing work to help children with cancer and their families go through truly difficult times. It is our pleasure to support the Sunrise Association.”
Sunrise Association Day Camps Summer 2021 Wrap Up
The summer of 2021 was amazing! More than 1,800 children attended one of our camps this year, bringing an end to more than a year of separation from the natural joys of childhood. Every one of you who are reading this played a role in making sure that this happened, and we thank you for your efforts, your generosity, and for always making room in your hearts for our children.
While safety issues this year were always in the front of our minds, the impetus behind them was and always will be our deep love for the children we care for. These children had been isolated for the past year and a half, and we were determined to bring them back to camp for the summer that they deserved. Despite the masking and the constant reminders of the new rules, there was an overabundance of joy, laughter and happiness throughout every one of our camps. The Directors re-thought their programming to provide maximum fun within safe parameters, and the campers had a wonderful summer with their friends. They played ball, they swam, they danced and sang and even had color war. The letters, emails, cards and general accolades from our parents attributes to our success in having delivered a product worthy of the Sunrise brand.
Even as we now begin moving into our year-round programming, we are starting to plan next summer. What that will look like depends a great deal on the world situation, much of which is unknown to us at the time. But whatever it will be, we will adapt. If this summer proved anything, it was that we can manage whatever gets thrown in our way. With your continued help, we will do just that.
Fifth Annual Sunrise Day Camp Pearl River Golf Outing
The Fifth Annual Sunrise Day Camp Pearl River Golf Outing took place in-person on Monday, July 26th at Fenway Golf Club in Scarsdale.
The event honored Adam Barsky, EVP and CFO of the New York Power Authority, and Mike Richter, former New York Ranger Champion Goalie and President of Brightcore Energy. Led by Co-chairs Andy Cott & Andy Frank; Tennis Chair Robyn Frank; Cards & Games Chair Susan Cott; and, Corporate Outreach Chair Marc Feuerstein, the record-breaking event raised more than $425K – surpassing our original goal!
The day included two shotgun starts with over 140 golfers, tennis, an afternoon of boutique shopping, cards & games, capped off with a fabulous dinner on the patio. A special thank you to our guest speakers, former counselors Julie and Dani Abraham, and camper parent Kesha Davis who shared their inspirational Sunrise stories. A truly special day for Sunrise, and our first return to in-person events, we thank everyone who supported the event.
Sunrise on Wheels is Rolling Back Into Hospitals!
In March of 2020, when the world changed due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, Sunrise on Wheels — our in-person hospital recreational activity program — was placed on hiatus in all of our 21 “Wheels” hospitals. That didn’t stop the team! We stayed connected to all of our hospitals via monthly deliveries of crafts, activities and fun newsletters as well as Sunrise on Screens and Wheels Up!, our creative virtual programming. We also began offering virtual programming to hospitals all around the country!
The good news is that hospitals are now opening their doors to our Sunrise on Wheels programs once again. We are up and running at Montefiore Hospital (The Bronx), NYP/Columbia (Manhattan), Maria Fareri (Westchester), Sinai Medical (Baltimore), and Cohen Children’s Medical Center (Queens), and Rambam and Soroka in (Israel). We are “on deck” to enter Hackensack (NJ), Maimonides (Brooklyn) and Mount Sinai (NYC). The best news is that we will be continuing to provide our virtual programming through Sunrise Studios alongside of our in-person Wheels program!
Stay tuned for more Wheels news!
SunriseWALKS Host Three of Its Five Events in June
This past June, we held 3 of our 5 annual walk-a-thon events – SunriseWALKS-Long Island, SunriseWALKS-Staten Island, and AuroraWALKS-Atlanta. COVID-19 challenged us to change our course and hold our walks virtually again. All 3 events brought their communities together for a virtual Opening Ceremony, followed by remote walks. Having a virtual platform allowed us to expand our reach as participants were able to take part in the WALK from any location. While we couldn’t celebrate together in-person, thousands of community members, corporations, and most importantly, our camper families rallied together to show their support, raising over $1.3 million. We are so grateful for all those that participated, fundraised, spread awareness, and donated to continue to make the magic of Sunrise a reality for so many children impacted by pediatric cancer!
Coming this October will be our remaining 2 walk-a-thon events – SunriseWALKS-Pearl River and HorizonWALKS-Baltimore. Both of these events are scheduled to be in-person on Sunday, October 17. Our goal is to raise $550,000.
To learn more about these events and how to get involved, visit www.sunrise-walks.org or contact MaryKate Smith,
SunriseWALKS Campaign Manager.
We Walk So They Can Soar…
HorizonWALKS…PETER’S WAY!
This year, we are encouraging HorizonWALKS participants to fundraise, generate awareness and get moving “your way” anytime from anywhere in any way that’s fun! That means walk, run, dance, or do something extraordinary like what Peter Watts has done this summer – a 7-day, 500-mile bike trek through Maryland, called the Horizon Hustle.
Last October, Peter volunteered at HorizonWALKS, and had a chance to meet some of our campers. He also helped organize a holiday toy drive for over 100 Horizon families. Peter says, “The kids are so resilient. If I can help bring them joy, I’m all in.” 500 miles definitely says, “all in!”
“It is my honor to support this amazing mission – which simply said is to help restore the joys of childhood for these cancer fighters. Riding 500 miles in 7 days won’t be easy, but the reality is that nothing is easy for children impacted by pediatric cancer. They inspire me, and it is my hope that this biking challenge will inspire others to help Horizon Day Camp.” To date, Peter has raised $38,000 and is working towards his ambitious $50,000 fundraising goal for HorizonWALKS 2021 this fall.
To learn more about Peter’s epic journey, visit the Horizon Hustle.
Aurora Day Camp 2021 Wrap Up
From June 14th to July 22nd, Aurora Day Camp operated their summer program for nearly 150 campers in the metropolitan Atlanta area. It was an amazing summer!
One Mom told us: “This was our fourth summer since [our child] was diagnosed. We had a summer with chemo, one with radiation, one with COVID, and then this one where two little boys got to be two little boys. I will never be able to thank you enough for that. I went back to work this year and it put my mind at ease knowing they had what both of them still talk about as their best summer EVER! There are even new interests that each have asked me to look into as an after school activity. How amazing to be so impacted by 6 weeks together! 💛💛💛”
SPONSOR HIGHLIGHT: RBC Capital Markets
We are so grateful for our friends at RBC Capital Markets, who during a trying year, continued to support our mission. Starting as the presenting sponsor for our annual Sunrise on the Rocks Young Professionals event – where hundreds of supporters joined together virtually to enjoy homemade pizza and fresh mozzarella with a gourmet chef – to our Color War Sponsor where our campers at Sunrise Day Camp-Long Island and Sunrise Day Camp-Pearl River enjoyed a week competition filled with cheer, games, and fun for all!
Thank you, RBC, for your continued support and giving children with cancer joyful memories at their summer home – Sunrise Day Camp!
