Kesem is an organization that aims to provide support for over 9,000 children age six-18 that have parents diagnosed with cancer. Through their primary service, Camp Kesem, counselors and campers take part in a summertime experience that gives children the tools they need to successfully navigate difficult times. Grand Valley State University’s chapter of Camp Kesem fundraises, provides resources to families and hosts a camp for children living in the Grand Rapids area.

Camp Kesem provides a summer camp experience for children, and includes many classic activities, such as arts and crafts, archery, swimming and other games. The interpersonal and practical skills children learn during their time at camp help them both during and after the processing of their parents’ illnesses. However, it’s different from a traditional summer camp, as time is cultivated for campers and counselors to bond through nightly cabin chats. By centering mental health, counselors aim to support the children of cancer patients. The bonds that children form with each other through living and learning together expands Kesem’s community, which results in a continuous stream of relationships.

“We include an ‘Empowerment Ceremony,’ during which campers are invited, but not obligated, to share about their experience with their parents’ cancer, and how Kesem has helped them,” said Gabe Kardia, a senior program director at Camp Kesem.

Though Kesem’s summer camp programs were established throughout the United States in 2000, the chapter at GVSU hosted its first camp in the summer of 2018.

“Camp Kesem is our flagship program, which allows (currently up to) 40 children in the Grand Rapids area to go to a week-long summer camp for free, as all profits are fundraised by our team of student leaders,” said Delaney Fries, a camp director at GVSU. “Those leaders attend camp as counselors. On top of Camp Kesem, we provide year-round services to all of our camper families.”

Another event hosted by GVSU’s Kesem chapter is Friends and Family Day, a bi-yearly event where counselors take children and their families through a day of activities, including visits to rollers rinks and scavenger hunts held on the Allendale campus. In addition, Kesem By Your Side is a service for campers who are experiencing especially difficult circumstances. The children receive care packages from counselors filled with items related to their needs. Student leaders at Kesem also send out birthday cards to each of their campers so that no child feels isolated during their struggle.

To more effectively accommodate their campers’ needs and wide range of ages, counselors at Camp Kesem take on an individualized learning approach. For younger children, counselors aim to teach them basic life skills, such as sharing, teamwork, friendship, time management, problem solving and more. Leaders focus on communication, collaboration, money management, leadership skills and public speaking when working with the camp’s young adults.

“Both groups have good fun at camp, but we adapt to their ages and interests to provide the best experience to each and every camper,” Fries said. 

Kesem is looking to expand beyond the summer camp experience, according to Kardia. The organization will be arranging further year-round support through Club Kesem, a virtual opportunity to engage with community and make services more accessible and wide-reaching.

“We are also introducing and expanding our offerings to include day programs that will better serve families for whom overnight camp may not be accessible,” Kardia said. 

Camp Kesem’s GVSU chapter meets biweekly in Kirkhof Center from 7-8 p.m. to provide information about programming and services. They also regularly host fundraisers on campus.