In 1995, Camp AmeriKids was started as a residential summer camp program for under served youth living with HIV/AIDS. Since then we have opened our doors to children with sickle-cell disease. The goals of Camp AmeriKids are to provide respite for the children and their families, to create opportunities for socialization and exploring new interests in a safe, learning, nurturing environment, and to enhance the children’s life skills. Campers are able to spend time outdoors while engaging in a variety of activities from swimming in the heated pool to a challenging ropes course. They get to roast marshmallows, catch frogs and stargaze. Camp AmeriKids is offered entirely free of charge.
In the past 25 + years, we have grown into a multi-faceted organization. Besides summer camp there is a year round teen leadership program (LIT – Leaders in Training) for the 16 and 17 year olds. These kids have “aged out” of camp but choose to stay connected. The third Aspect is a one-on-one year round Mentor program. Here we seek to address the needs of 16-20 year olds transitioning to adulthood. The plan is to continue to promote positive self-esteem through life skills and leadership training.
To better encompass the various programs, we adopted the name ELM PROJECT.
To see more information, click here.
Dear Caren, Allen, and Randi,
I hope 2022 is off to great start for you and everyone at the Phil Zwickler Charitable and Memorial Foundation Trust! We are already gearing up for Camp AmeriKids this summer by sending out camper applications, discussing possible vaccine mandates, and beginning our volunteer outreach. It is difficult to believe that nearly two years later, we are still living in the midst of a global pandemic. It has been extremely challenging for many of us, including the families that we serve. The ELM Project team did everything we could to host a safe and successful camp session last summer by putting strict COVID protocols in place, including rigorous pre-camp testing requirements. I am extremely proud to say that Camp AmeriKids 2021 was a huge success!
In 2021, The ELM Project served 89 children during our Camp AmeriKids summer program and 22 teens in our year-round Leader-in-Training Program. Over the December holidays, we mailed packages to over 180 children since we could not host our in-person Holiday Party at that time.
Attached you will find a detailed report outlining all our accomplishments from 2021.
Due to the generosity of the Phil Zwickler Foundation, we have been able to continue serving children and young adults affected by chronic illness, completely free of charge to their families. The participants in our programs are exposed to new experiences each year which allow them to put aside their medical challenges and enjoy being a carefree kid. We are proud to be your partner and are looking forward to continued growth and new opportunities in 2022!
Please extend my thanks to everyone at the foundation for making these experiences possible for our children. There may continue to be many challenges that lay ahead, but we are prepared to work tirelessly each day to share our programs with the deserving children we serve. Do not hesitate to contact me with any questions and I look forward to our continued partnership!
Warmest Regards,
Chloe
Chloe Ettari, MSW, MPH
Executive Director
THE PHIL ZWICKLER FOUNDATION GOES TO CAMP
Phil’s nephew Parker Levine (28), and Emily Levine (24) never got to know their Uncle Phil but both of them carry pieces of his unique character. Since 2007 Parker and Emily have been hearing us talk about our support for Camp AmeriKids. Both being life time camper they were of course curious and eager to help.
While Emily is studying for her Masters Degree in Mental Health Counseling, she realized what life experience she could gain at a place like Camp AmeriKids. For the last two summers, Emily has given a week of her very precious time to volunteer as a counselor for 14-16 year old girls at camp.
The following describes her experiences…
On one humid August day in 2021 I was hesitant as I drove myself up to Camp in Monticello, NY. I was scared and uncertain of what to expect from my first summer volunteering at Camp AmeriKids. In my head I am questioning: what did I just sign up for? Will my campers like me? Will they respect me? Will I make friends? Fast forward 8 long, exhausting days… I found myself bawling my eyes out at the end of the summer slideshow. I held my campers tight as they begged me to return next summer. Now, one quick and eventful year later, It’s August 2022. I greeted those same campers, and some new faces, as they came running off the bus excited to finally be back in their favorite place. A place where nothing matters except who’s going to win the lip sync battle, and which activity our group is going to choose for cabin night. Despite the exhausting days, the freezing summer nights, and any chaos in between I wouldn’t change a thing about my experiences spending the last 2 summers at Camp AmeriKids. Camp Amerikids is more than just special…it is a magical, indescribable place. The best way to explain Camp AmeriKids is the quote: “From the outside looking in, you can’t understand it. From the inside looking out, you can’t explain it”. No matter if you’re 8 or 70 years old, you can come to Camp AmeriKids, unleash your inner child, and escape whatever real-world hardships you want to escape. To me, the most special part of it all, is that everyone comes with their own story and their own reason for wanting to escape the real world. Every camper, volunteer, nurse, wellness staff, and administrative staff has their own lives outside of camp that go on the other 51 weeks of the year. For just one week of the 52 weeks we can come together, pause, unplug, and embrace all the love and joy that is Camp AmeriKids.
If there’s anything you need to know about me it is that I am a diehard camper. I went to a Jewish sleepaway camp for 11 summers and believe it or not, I never went on the zipline at the high ropes course. At Camp AmeriKids, things were different. Knowing my campers were looking up to me, I eagerly volunteered to go first and conquer a fear of my own. From the top of the tower, I could hear my campers screaming my name and cheering me on. By the time I got off the course and out of my harness, the entire cabin was lined up excited to follow my footsteps and try the ropes course themselves. Words cannot describe how special it felt to have these girls look up to me and be the shoulder they can lean on. One night, one of my girls didn’t feel well, but was comfortable enough to wake me up and confide in me. I took her to the infirmary where she would receive the kind, gentle and professional help of the phenomenal nursing staff. The nurses at Camp AmeriKids are the closest thing I have ever met to superheroes. They are on call and ready with smiles on their faces 25 hours of the day. They handled COVID-19 protocols so well and made sure everyone was safe and comfortable all week long. Knowing that two nurses stayed up all night rubbing my campers back, just to help her fall asleep, proves just how dedicated they are to care for every member of the Camp AmeriKids family.
At Camp AmeriKids we have an inner-camp mailing system called “StarGrams”. Each of my campers wrote me personal notes that I continue to hold onto and will cherish for the rest of my life. Some read things like; “you encourage me to be better, and to be who I would like to be someday.” “You lift us up and bring out the fun side in all of us. Thank you for talking to me when I was having a hard time.” “After the past 2 years, I really do love you. No matter what happens, or happened, thank you for always being there.” “Thank you for sitting and talking with me everyday, and every meal. I will miss you so much!” “You are so cool doing a lot of things like dancing and letting us braid your hair. I am so happy to have you thank you so much for this week.” “You’re the best hype woman any Jay-Z or Rihanna can ask for.” (Since it had been raining all week, our Cabin performed “Umbrella” by Rihanna Ft. Jay Z for our lip sync and we won!!)
As a graduate student studying mental health counseling, I could safely say that I learned more about culture and human differences at camp than any textbook could teach me. It was the tough conversations we had throughout the week, solving conflict between campers and being exposed to, and confided in, such deep and personal real-life issues that will come in handy in my future career as a therapist. I was welcomed and embraced into my campers’ respective cultures as they shared personal stories and traditions with me such as hairbraiding and their different types of favorite music. I honestly did not expect to learn so much from a bunch of 15 year old girls or realize how much of an impact these campers would have on my life, opening my eyes, my head, and my heart. Spending time with my campers indulging in their favorite activities is what led to us forging a true camper counselor relationship and having the best week possible, filled with endless laughter and dancing. Developing these relationships and learning about cultures different than my own is what keeps me eager to return each summer and create these experiences with new campers.
Emily Levine