A Special Love
Annual Camp Fantastic BBQ Cooks up Good Vibes
Photo: Chia-Chi Charlie Chang
On a sunny Tuesday afternoon in June, the NIH community gathered on the south side of the Clinical Center for good music, tasty barbecue and a good cause: Camp Fantastic’s annual BBQ fundraiser.
The event drew more than 1,100 attendees who were offered the opportunity to lunch at food trucks, shop among unique vendors and enjoy live music. About half of the event’s proceeds will go toward funding Camp Fantastic, an adventure experience for children undergoing treatment for cancer or in recovery.
Event organizer David Browne, who is co-president of the Recreation and Welfare Association (R&W) at NIH, said the event reinforces NIH’s partnership with the camp’s foundation, Special Love.
“Special Love has always been very special to us,” Browne said. “The charity is very close to all our hearts.”
The scene at the BBQ was boisterous with music provided by NIH’s own ARRA—the Affordable Rock ‘n’ Roll Act, led by former NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins and his scientific colleagues, as well as an opening performance from Dubious Intentions, led by Cynthia Vierria, who works at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
Photo: Chia-Chi Charlie Chang
Lines for lunch stretched across the lawn as NIH’ers visited food trucks offering an array of options from the savory tang of Bangin BBQ to refreshing ices.
“[This event is] just one of the things that really gets people to come out…It really brings the community together,” remarked Browne.
Support from the event goes a long way, said Camp Fantastic Medical Coordinator Tammy Jenkins, pediatric clinical nurse specialist at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
“The money raised helps Special Love pay the expenses related to putting on a summer camp,” explained Jenkins, “from the basics of lodging and food to all the fun stuff like the shaving cream pie that will end up in a doctor’s face or the silly costumes and decorations that make camp so memorable.”
Photo: Chia-Chi Charlie Chang
Camp Fantastic was founded in 1983 with help from Tom and Sheila Baker, bereaved parents of a child who was treated at NIH in the 1970s.
Staff, including many NIH volunteers, dedicate time and effort to provide children ages 7-17 a typical camp experience while they are being treated or recovering from cancer. David Smith, Camp Fantastic director, noted that the camp means as much to the staff as to its campers.
“We were doing something that I already enjoyed, which was camp, and we were doing it with an audience that was so deserving, and just so amazing,” he said. “They were special needs kids, and frankly, just special kids. It made the camp experience even more rewarding.”
Smith works alongside NIH pediatric oncologist Dr. Jack Shern, who serves as the camp’s medical director. Together, Special Love and NIH’s Pediatric Oncology Branch provide kids with memorable summer camp experiences without sacrificing progress in their recovery journey.
Shern, and the medical and nursing team, handle NIH protocol and the medical aspects of the summer camp.
“When I signed up the first year, I just did a couple days,” he recalled. “I just sort of stayed overnight. Then every year I added a little bit of extra time because it was so much fun.”
Photo: Chia-Chi Charlie Chang
Shern began volunteering at the camp in 2011, following the advice of senior fellows in his department. Since then, the camp has allowed him to see his young patients as excited summer campers, which helps recharge his work ethic back in the office.
“Taking care of kids when they’re [very] sick, it can be very emotionally draining, and what I have found is there is a way to see them out having fun and living their lives,” Shern shared.
Jenkins has worked with the camp for more than 25 years. She said events like the BBQ show how involved NIH is in the mission of all-encompassing wellness for its community members.
“Attending camp changes the lives of these kids and provides them with the opportunity to try new things and make new friends—all of whom completely understand what they have been or are going through,” she emphasized. “There’s no need to explain anything…there’s just acceptance and lots of love and support.”
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