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Polars to take the plunge for charity off Amity Beach
Camp Sunshine will host the First Annual Camp Sunshine Long Island Polar Plunge. Many of the participants will be dressed in costume and funds raised will go to the camp which provides a one-of-a-kind national retreat for sick children and their families. "This year we hope that with the community's support we will raise in excess of $25,000 which is enough to send more than 16 Long Island families to Camp Sunshine," said Michael Smith, Camp Sunshine's director of special events. "It is our family and volunteer base in Long Island that insisted we create this event and that tells us just how much Camp Sunshine means to them and what they will do to support our ongoing efforts." Smith said the organization narrowed its search down to Amityville after searching the internet. "Finding a place to 'plunge' on Long Island turned out to be trickier than we anticipated, said Smith. "When we found Amityville on a Google Satellite image search, it appeared to be exactly what we were looking for." The group contacted Mayor Peter T. Imbert and the issue of providing access to the camp volunteers was raised with the Village Board. After learning that the organization would pay for any costs associated with the event, the board gave its approval. Participants must raise a minimum of $100 in pledges. "Plungers" raising $100 or more will receive a commemorative event t-shirt. The top fund raiser for the Long Island Polar Plunge will receive either a Nikon Coolpix Digital Camera, Nintendo Wii System or GPS. Pledge forms are available online at Village in contract for sale www.freezinforareason.com/longislandpp.html. Since the opening of the year-round campus in 2001, more ill children and their families have come from New York (many from the Long Island area) than any other state in the nation. In 2007, 190 families from New York participated in the program. Camp Sunshine is set along the shores of Sebago Lake in Casco, Maine. It is the only program in the nation whose mission is to address the impact of a life-threatening illness on every member of the immediate family- the ill child, the parents, and the siblings. In addition to providing 24-hour onsite medi- cal and psychosocial support, the camp offers a variety of daily activities ranging from swimming and boating to archery and soccer and special events such as bonfires and cookouts.
Camp Sunshine can be reached by phone at (207) 655-3800 or on the internet at www.campsunshine.org.
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