By Colleen Flanagan
Dave McKenzie
D
ave MacKenzie hopes that one day there no longer will be a need for Camp Goodtimes. MacKenzie, director of camps for the Canadian Cancer Society, hopes that once the cure for cancer comes along, he won’t be running camps for children with the disease. Instead, he’d just like to support camps for children dealing with the aftermaths of treatment or for hosting reunions for survivors. Camp Goodtimes provides free, medically supervised summer camping sessions for children whose lives have been affected by cancer. “The goal,” says MacKenzie in a calm voice, “is to create, I guess what the kids themselves will call, a normal environment for them.” Sessions are planned to hold the kinds of activities designed for a full summer camp experience, including swimming, arts and crafts and campfire with additional special events like a carnival or casino night. And every activity the children participate in includes everybody. “So we wouldn’t just start up a casino night or a soccer game or a dance without considering the entire group of kids that are coming this summer.” Twenty five children took part in Camp Goodtimes first year in 1985. Today, there are between 600 to 700 participants in the summer camp program. This also includes a couple of sessions for parents and caregivers as well. “That’s our clients, our families,” says MacKenzie. “We also support siblings of those kids and sometimes the support for the family is quite direct in that we have the entire family on site and have peer-support sessions for the parents and care givers.” Vancouver born Dave MacKenzie got involved with Camp Goodtimes 20 years ago as a volunteer when he was 18-years-old and fresh out of high school. He was recruited by the camp director for Camp Goodtimes at that time along with other young people to go through the interview process and learn about the camps. From that first year on, MacKenzie says he enjoyed the mission of the camp and what it does for the people. “I must have volunteered for about eight years,” says MacKenzie about his position in the organization that, in time, transitioned into a paid role. In 2003, he took on the role of camp director. There is only a team of five, including MacKenzie, that spend the entire year preparing for the summer camps. “We have a lot of considerations over the medical conditions of the kids and the social and emotional stuff that they may go through,” says MacKenzie. The summer team consists of an additional five employees and 200 volunteers. An additional 100 volunteers are recruited to help with committees and day programs in the spring and fall. MacKenzie also points out the close connection Camp Goodtimes has with B.C. Children’s Hospital. “A lot of other camps don’t have a medical component beyond a first aid attendant,” says
MacKenzie. “We’ll have a team of five or six doctors and nurses, 24 hours a day at all our sessions.” The hospital also promotes the program by passing out information and providing guidelines to how activities are run and how programming is scheduled. MacKenzie, not having had cancer himself, nor having been touched by it in his personal life, couldn’t imagine how he would react if, the tables were turned. He imagines that anyone in that position would possibly fall apart into a long despair and think that this is the end of their life. But, he says, the kids that come to camp don’t see it that way. Cancer can be very painful and scary, says MacKenzie. “And so watching people go through that and having strength and courage to withstand the pain and to carry forward with an attitude like they’re going to beat it is very impressive. “I think it’s life changing,” he adds. “The kids who come to this camp and the families as well would tell us all the time that they go through a life transformation of some kind. And I think that the volunteers and the staff have the same experience.” “In my first year, I met a guy named Jeff and I suppose the impression he made on me was that he just seemed very resilient. He seemed to be full of life and very calm and strong,” says MacKenzie, admitting he did not know what to expect in his first week of camp. He thought that he would be surrounded by a lot of sick children who would look and act really sick. “In any case, Jeff, like a lot of kids I’ve met,” continues MacKenzie, “seemed very healthy and it’s very inspirational to see someone like that go through something like cancer and just seem so normal.” Jeff would eventually lose his battle with the
disease a couple of years later. “But at no time between the time I met him and the time he passed away, did I get any sense that he was being dominated by his cancer. Or that he wasn’t living up to the possibility of each day.” The best part of every session for MacKenzie is the closing ceremonies, even though he admits this might come across in a strange way. “While there is about five or 10 minutes of official closing there is another hour of waiting for the parents to arrive and pick the kids up where we just talk about what the week meant and how much the kids are looking forward to coming back,” he says. Applications for Camp Goodtimes are accepted all year and MacKenzie stresses that it is important to apply because it gives them an idea how long the waiting list is and prompts them to expand if needed. “Our goal is not to turn away any of the applying children who themselves have cancer,” says MacKenzie. MacKenzie urges families that could use their support to get in touch with the Canadian Cancer Society and become connected. “Even when there is an understanding that there is a Camp Goodtimes, there’s a lot of misconceptions that can block someone from following through,” he says. “When a family is ready, which is one thing, it’s knowing that camp doesn’t mean tents. As you can see we have a pretty comfortable setting here.” “We cover 100 per cent of the cost of everyone attending this program. Those costs are covered by donor dollars from the community. And we have a 24-hour medical staff. “So, the camp is free, the camp is very well medically staffed and we have very comfortable buildings,” MacKenzie adds. For more information about Camp Goodtimes phone 604-675-7141 or e-mail at gotcamp@ bc.cancer.ca.
34 | Our Community. Our People. | Supplement to the Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows News | August 2011