Being a family member of a cancer patient is not easy, it is harder when you are a child of a cancer patient. Our third social service organization that we gave the all-star status to is Camp Kesem for giving children such a safe haven, which means a lot to the parents of these children who would like “to protect their children from negative emotions such as fear or anger as well as by their fear of not being able to control their own emotions” (Dauchy, Sarah). Camp Kesem reaches out to over 3 million children allowing them a chance to maintain their childhood and feel supported.
The amount of donors they pull http://campkesem.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Pages-from-Kesem-2015-Annual-Report_FINAL_Web-2.pdf
There are several opportunities for various fields to get involved with the Case Western Reserve University chapter of Camp Kesem. Nurses & Mental Health Professionals, Students, and the Advisory board that are from fields such as: philanthropy, medicine, education, youth development, and business. Volunteers have the option of enlisting in committees for all of their different branches such as: volunteer, operations, development outreach, PR/Marketing.
These are the current leaders of Case Western chapter of Camp Kesem that are ont he website:
Co-Directors
Banjo
Jared "Banjo" Ong is a third year Nutritional Biochemistry & Metabolism major and Economics/Chemistry/Ethics minor from Akron, Ohio. He also serves as provost, on the executive board for Zeta Beta Tau Fraternity and conducts research at the CWRU School of Medicine. He plans to enter medical school after graduating from Case Western. Aside from Camp Kesem and school, Jared also enjoys hiking, kayaking, watching Mad Men, and playing/watching soccer! (also french fries)
Grapes
Julie "Grapes" Welch is a senior Business Management and Supply Chain major originally from Troy, Michigan. She became involved in Camp Kesem during her freshman year and was lucky enough to go to CWRU's first camp! Since then, Grapes has continued to work with CK in various positions on the Executive Board. When she's not working on things for Camp, she enjoys working on Relay For Life, hanging with her CK family, working, listening to music, and traveling.
Treasurer
Olaf
Jacob "Olaf" Phillips is a second-year economics major from Davenport, Iowa.. He is a member of the CWRU Men's soccer team and Zeta Psi International fraternity. Outside of school, he founded a student-run mock hedge fund and hopes to pursue a career in investment management after graduation.
Operations
KitKat
Karyn "KitKat" Ludewig is a second year Systems and Control Engineering and Electrical Engineering double major with a minor in Dance from Northfield, Minnesota. Besides Camp Kesem she is involved in MaDaCol, a dance performance group on campus, Symphonic Winds as a flute player, Society of Women Engineers, and Case Engineers Counsel. She loves dogs of any kind, especially her two labs Eli and Peyton.
Stitch
Victoria "Stitch" El-Hayek is a third year Psychology and Biology major from Canfield, Ohio. She is a mentor in Collegiate Connections, a member of Love Your Melon CWRU, and is working on a prostate cancer research project at Case School of Medicine. In her free time she volunteers at Cleveland Clinic's Children's hospital and loves going on hikes and reading books.
Outreach
Frootloops
Angela "Frootloops" Pomeroy is a Junior Nursing Student at CWRU from Palo Alto, California. When she is not spreading the CK magic she loves to ice skate, run and dance. Once she graduates she hopes to pursue her nursing career in pediatric oncology.
Kitty
Lindsey "Kitty" Robinson is a junior from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She is majoring in Biology on the Pre-med track and minoring in Chemistry and Sports Medicine. She plans to attend medical school following graduation. Outside of Kesem she is a medical scribe for University Hospitals, she is a Supplemental Instructor for chemistry 111, and she is a member of Phi Mu national sorority and Phi Delta Epsilon International Professional Medical fraternity. In her free time she loves working out, exploring Cleveland with her friends, and playing with her cat Duchess.
Development
Chronic
Ronak "Chronic" Kundalia, is a 2nd year Student. He is currently on the pre-med track majoring in biochemistry. When he's not studying, he loves to play basketball and solve Rubik's cubes (and hang out with his bff Grapes).
Sparks
Samantha "Sparks" Liu is a junior from Ann Arbor, Michigan, on the Pre-Med Track, majoring in Biochemistry and minoring in Japanese. She plans to take a year off after college to gain work experience in a hospital setting before pursuing her career in medicine. She works in a neuroscience research lab at the CWRU School of Medicine, volunteers at Rainbow Babies and other organizations, and is a director in her sorority, Delta Gamma. Sam loves ice skating, painting, working out, spending time with her friends, learning new things, and making sure that Camp Kesem at CWRU is as amazing as it can possibly be.
Make the Magic
Poppy
Annie "Poppy" Cheng is a 3rd year nursing student from Irvine, California. She has moved multiple places in the West Coast including Palos Verdes, CA and Bellevue, WA before coming to Cleveland. Outside of Camp Kesem, she is involved in Undergraduate Student Nurses Association and Alpha Chi Omega Women's Fraternity. During her free time, enjoys the spending time with family & friends, exploring the outdoors, and experimenting new recipes.
Echo
Mihir "Echo" Nilkanth is a 1st year Biochemistry major on the pre-med track from Orange County, California. Outside of Kesem, he loves being involved in the Rock Climbing Club and his fraternity, Zeta Beta Tau. He also enjoys hiking, going to concerts, and playing with dogs. In the future, Mihir hopes to be an orthopedic surgeon, so he can enjoy both connecting with patients and solving problems in the OR.
Volunteer
Pancake
Abbe "Pancake" Richard is a Sophomore Chemistry/PreMed major from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In addition to Camp Kesem, she is a member of the University Program Board, the Homecoming Committee, and Alpha Chi Omega Sorority. She also volunteers at University Hospitals in Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital. In her free time, Pancake enjoys working out, being around friends, and drinking coffee. She likes to be outdoors as often as possible, and loves doing new and exciting things. He isn't sure what he wants to do when he becomes a real adult and graduates from college but he definitely wants to stay involved with Camp Kesem and continue to help thousands of kids experience the fun of summer camp!
Fizz
Issy "Fizz" Haney is currently doing an integrated studies program with her B.A in Psychology as well as as a Master of Science in Social Administration. She is from Medina, Ohio. Other than Kesem, she is a member of the Alpha Phi sorority! She loves sleeping and having a good time! Her future goals include to receive her MSSA and start working with the mental health population to provide trauma services.
Alumni Relations, Marketing, and PR
Cubbie
Shannon "Cubbie" Orloski is a second year nursing major from Chicago, Illinois. She is not only involved in Camp Kesem, but also Phi Mu Fraternity and the Undergraduate Student Nurses Association. She loves kids, and so she plans on going into pediatric oncology or the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). She eventually hopes to pursue her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)! When she isn't studying or recruiting new members for Camp Kesem, you can usually find her watching Game of Thrones or facetiming her dog.
Kiwi
Santiago "Kiwi" Reyes is a second-year electrical engineering student from Miami, Florida who aspires to practice IP Law one day. He is a member of the Zeta Psi Fraternity on campus, is a student-worker in the CWRU School of Law, and is a photographer for the Observer. During his free time, he likes to go to music festivals, spend time outdoors and browse Instagram.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO DONATE AND HELP SEND A KID TO CAMP THIS SUMMER YOU CAN DONATE AT https://donate.kesem.org/kylewis
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