Each summer, at Camp Boggy Creek in Eustis, Florida, kids arrive for five days of playing in the lake, riding bikes, and making new friends. Each week is special, but this week the kids are coming to N.I.C.K.’s Camp, a camp in which the name says it all: Nothing is Impossible for Cancer Kids.
As the kids do cannonballs into the water, laugh with their cabinmates, and experience the excitement and joys of camp, their caregivers can have peace of mind knowing their kids are being taken care of in a safe, medically-sound, environment. The camp is also free for campers and their families.
This week of N.I.C.K.’s Camp is sponsored by the Chiera Family Foundation, a foundation which has been raising money to send kids to camp for over 25 years. The Chiera family started the foundation after their father, Nicholas R. Chiera, passed away from cancer in 1989. His enthusiasm for life and for helping others motivated his family to carry on his legacy. While he was alive, he was known for helping others. He started a recreation program and camp for children with special needs, and he opened a state-of-the-art senior citizen center. Most importantly, he wanted to make sure everyone had an opportunity to have fun.
In addition to sponsoring kids for N.I.C.K.’s Camp, the Chiera Family Foundation offers college scholarships to students who have beaten cancer, called N.I.C.K’s Scholarships. Some of these students were once campers at N.I.C.K.’s Camp. Over the years, these students have gone on to graduate from college and earn advanced degrees, in fields such as medicine and social work. The Chiera Family Foundation has also expanded its programs to teach kids how to golf and how to ice skate, even as these kids are going through chemotherapy.
SanMar is honored to use its products to support organizations like Chiera Family Foundation that are doing good in the world. SanMar provides N.I.C.K.’s Camp t-shirts for all the campers, staff, and volunteers each summer. SanMar also provides Port Authority polo shirts for the kids in the golf program, and sweatshirts for the kids who are learning to ice skate.
Each summer, the five days of camp will come to an end. But the memories will live on: in the photos, the friendships, and even the t-shirts.
