THIS YEAR, SUNRISEWALKS CELEBRATES TOGETHER AGAIN!
We are thrilled to host our 17th Annual SunriseWALKS Long Island event in-person at our beautiful Sunrise Day Camp-Long Island campgrounds in Wheatley Heights, NY on Sunday, June 12th!
HOW TO PARTICIPATE:
REGISTER and create or join a team. SHARE your participation with family and friends and ask them to join you. FUNDRAISE AND SPREAD AWARENESS to support our Sunrise children. WALK WITH US on June 12 to celebrate the success of SunriseWALKS and our Sunrise campers!
SunriseWALKS Long Island benefits Sunrise Day Camp-Long Island, the world's first full-summer day camp for children with cancer and their siblings, offered completely free of charge. As a program of the Friedberg JCC and a proud member of the Sunrise Association, our mission is to bring back the joys of childhood to children with cancer and their siblings worldwide. Sunrise accomplishes this through the creation and oversight of welcoming, inclusive summer day camps, year-round programs and in-hospital recreational activities, all offered free of charge.
More than just a walk, SunriseWALKS is our annual community event filled with music, games, prizes, and more! In 2019, we had over 3,000 people join us at our event, and are excited to invite our Long Island community back onto our campgrounds this year!
By joining us, you will be playing a key role in sending children with cancer and their siblings to Sunrise Day Camp, where they can forget about the hospital beds, and needles, and enjoy a summer camp filled with excitement, friendship, and fun.
Meet our 2022 SunriseWALKS Camper Ambassador Family
The Cohen Family
L-R: Tracee, Jordana, Austin & Neal Cohen
In early January of 2019, Austin was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Once an active, athletic, healthy 4-year-old now had to be carried everywhere, didn't want to leave his bed, and quickly began to isolate. It was during stays in the hospital while receiving treatment where he began to open up to the Sunrise Association's Sunrise On Wheels volunteers. They quickly became the highlight of his day. Those volunteers introduced the Cohen family to Sunrise Day Camp. While hesitate at first, they decided to give it a try.
Austin came home after his first day of camp singing the Sunrise Day Camp song and most importantly, he came home "happy." At a time in his life where he could do virtually nothing, he could go to camp. And not just any camp. A really special camp where he could connect with kids going through exactly what he was going through.
