A Walk to Remember
It’s Sunday night as I write this and we’ve all just
returned to our homes following the 7th Annual Walk to Make the Sun
Rise at the Henry Kaufmann Campgrounds.
And what a walk it was!
There are many proverbs which speak to our responsibilities
towards children, perhaps the most well-known one being an African proverb that
says “it takes a village to raise a child.”
Often at the JCC, we talk about “building a fence around children” – a protective
wall if you will that surrounds and envelops them with love and caring. And nowhere is that more evident than at the
Walk to Help the Sun Rise – our annual walkathon to benefit Sunrise Day Camp.
For the past 7 years, myriad individuals, families and teams
– even corporations like Nikon – have come to the walk to raise money for our
kids. Last year, 1000 people walked and
raised over $345,000, and while we don’t yet have the tallies for today’s walk,
it sure felt as large.
The beauty of the walk isn’t just the money we raise, but
it’s the sense of a community gathering around these children to make sure that
they have a chance at normalcy – at a summer of fun instead of one of sadness
and isolation. People come for myriad
reasons – some because they’ve been touched by cancer in one way or another,
and some because it’s just a good thing to do.
Let me share with you two quick vignettes:
The first is the JHS Kids Club. JHS
“officially” stands for “Jericho High School Kids”, but it also unofficially
stands for “Jericho Helping Sunrise Kids” -- a play on words because of their
deep commitment to Sunrise. This
amazing group of High School Students raised an unprecedented $25,250 this year
for our kids, the largest amount ever from a team. What an achievement!
But the other story that struck me today had nothing to do
with money; it was about our own Buildings and Grounds crew. These are the hardest working people I
know. They worked through the entire
weekend after Friday night’s rains sent mud and puddles streaming throughout
the walk course, and were at the campground again on Sunday before the sun came
up, moving tables, setting up signs, tamping down loose soil from the rains,
sweeping sidewalks, setting up displays, food, etc. They never stopped working, and when it was
all over, they broke it all down as if we had never been there. When I went to talk with them at the end of
the day, they told me how much they loved working this event because of what Sunrise
is. It was a humbling moment. I would
challenge anyone to do a day’s worth of physical labor as these men and women
do, and to do it with the grace and class that they bring to the table. They
were amazing.
The day was beautiful – mid 70s and barely a cloud in the
sky – the perfect day to come together for a good cause. It had poured the morning before, but we put
the grounds back together and had a wonderful walk. And as the last person left and the final table
was put away, the sky darkened and once again, it began to rain.
I couldn’t help but smile.
All the best,
Arnie
