Every other week on NHPR, we like to put a spotlight on people and places doing interesting things around the state on Give Back NH.
This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.
The Childhood Cancer Lifeline is a volunteer-run organization that supports children with cancer and their families by providing knowledge, resources, assistance and hope.
They're our focus this week on Give Back New Hampshire.
Sylvia Pelletier, president of the Childhood Cancer Lifeline, helped found the organization in 1995.
Sylvia Pelletier: We recognize that while we were well-connected at clinic and in our treatment centers, when we came home, we felt pretty isolated.
Even still, decades later, this isolation is still a concern for the organization and the families who use its services.
Sylvia Pelletier: The change with social media, you would think, would change that experience for families today, but we still hear that experience shared from families.
When a family reaches out to the Childhood Cancer Lifeline, Sylvia says the Lifeline will have an initial visit where they bring along a welcome package.
Sylvia Pelletier: So all of our newly diagnosed families receive grocery cards, gasoline gift cards, and then an initial visit with someone to work with them to figure out, you know, what supports might they need? Do they need some help connecting and getting signed up for children's Medicaid as secondary coverage? Do they need a laptop for their child to stay connected to school? What is it they need, and how can we best be of support?
So following that home visit, then they're kept in the loop for additional assistance, so gas cards throughout treatment, emergency funding as needed. So we pay mortgages, we pay rent, we pay expensive car repairs to help families stay intact and focused on what needs to be focused on which is taking care of their child and their family, and not worrying so much about the bills.
One of the biggest support systems the Lifeline provides is Camp Winning Spirit. Every Labor Day, Childhood Cancer Lifeline teams up with YMCA Camp Coniston in Grantham to host the families who receive support from the Lifeline.
John Tilley, CEO of YMCA Camp Coniston, says that Winning Spirit functions similarly to a regular summer camp.
John Tilley: Archery, swimming, canoeing, we've got a ropes tower, we've got climbing. The kids love to participate in something that they call "Pirate Night." They do it all of the time.
But really the activity at a well-run camp, and I think that Winning Spirit is an incredibly well-run camp, is talking to people, you know, it's in the moments of vulnerability when the sun goes down and the lights go out and parents are left in the lodge talking that they really feel connected to each other. Oftentimes, we get distracted by the fact that the activity is what they're doing, when in reality, what they're doing is belonging and connecting with others.
Sylvia says that one of the main driving factors behind the camp is to return some normalcy to a family dealing with a childhood cancer diagnosis.
Sylvia Pelletier: When you're in treatment, there's a lot of hard. And when you show up at camp, you're a camper for a weekend for free.
John Tilley: The kids who don't have a diagnosis also get to experience this with their siblings, and I think it means a lot to all the members of the family, because they all get to share in it in a way that doesn't necessarily happen every day.
This sentiment is echoed by Carter Bascom, development director for YMCA Camp Coniston, who also previously served as a counselor at the camp.
Carter Bascom: I remember my first time experiencing Camp Winning Spirit and just seeing the joy and the care that not only the staff had for everyone, but also the families that were there. You could just see the smiles on their faces, and you could tell that they were just really happy to be there.
The last stop on my tour of Camp Coniston was the treehouse. Dedicated during their 100th year anniversary, the treehouse serves as a dedication in memory of four campers at Winning Spirit.
John Tilley: We use it every day during the summertime for ecology, for bog walks, nature study, and then I think it serves as a really special anchor to the facility for all of the Winning Spirit families.
