When we learned that Camp Goodtimes was back in session on Vashon and that campers were fishing at the pond at the Sportsmen’s Club, we expected to find a lovely scene there. Kids of all ages and backgrounds tossed lines in the pond, some intent on the task at hand, others chatting away with friends they met at the camp. A couple times everyone joined in on a camp song. Besides some visible medical needs, you’d hardly guess these young people all had lives dramatically altered by cancer. On Vashon, they left hospitals, appointments and stresses behind and joined others who are facing the same challenges them to just be kids.
What we didn’t expect to find last week was that Vashon may not be a haven for these cancer patients, survivors and their siblings next year. The American Cancer Society is apparently pulling its funding of Camp Goodtimes, which holds two weeklong camps each summer at Camp Burton.
Vashon kids don’t often attend this camp, and not many islanders volunteer there either. But the in its 30 years on Vashon, Camp Goodtimes and its mission have become well known to many on Vashon, and we suspect islanders would be sad to see it close.
On Friday the camp’s director, Gus Peterson, spoke to the importance of places like Camp Goodtimes. With a trained medical staff, the camp allows some young people to enjoy the outdoors and traditional camp activities that they otherwise never could. For other kids, the camp is simply a place where they can feel normal and not different than their peers because of what they’ve been through. Indeed, Vashon seems like an ideal spot for these kids to just get away.
We don’t know exactly why the ACS plans to stop funding camps — the director believes the organization is focusing its funds on cancer research — or whether the situation could change in the future. We do know that there’s already an effort under way to get new funding in place for next summer.
Such an effort will undoubtedly be costly — the camp has traditionally been free to families who have already been burdened with medical bills. But the camp is already partially supported by donations, and perhaps a wider fundraising effort could keep its doors open. We hope that, given the opportunity, islanders will help. In recent years Vashon residents have showed strong support for Relay for Life, an annual fundraiser for the American Cancer Society that benefits local program. Perhaps in the future, a special fundraiser for Camp Goodtimes, a cause close to home, could be incorporated into the event.
