Pediatric hematology/oncology staff hosts summer camp

The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University will host about 100 eastern North Carolina children with cancer, hemophilia and sickle-cell disease at summer camp June 15-21.

Camp Rainbow, for children with cancer, hemophilia and chronic blood disorders, and Camp Hope, for children with sickle-cell disease, will be held Sunday, June 15, through Saturday, June 21, at the Don Lee Center on the Neuse River near Arapahoe. The camps are being held simultaneously due to funding shortages.

Media day at the camps will be 9 a.m.-noon Wednesday, June 18. To set up an interview, call Jacquelyn P. Sauls at 252-744-4102 before Friday, June 13. She can be contacted during camp by paging 252-551-7404 or calling the Don Lee Center at 800-535-5475 or 252-249-1106 and asking for the Camp Rainbow and Hope staff. Directions to the Don Lee Center are online at www.donleecenter.org.

The pediatric hematology/oncology staff at the medical school has developed these camps to provide children with a chance to learn more about themselves and their illness. Children participate in traditional camp activities such as sailing, swimming, canoeing and crafts, and make new friends who share common experiences with cancer, hemophilia and sickle-cell disease in a medically monitored environment designed to meet their medical and psychosocial needs.

Approximately 100 campers are expected from the following cities: Beaufort, Chocowinity, Goldsboro, Greenville, Grifton, Havelock, Jacksonville, Kinston, La Grange, New Bern, Plymouth, Rocky Mount, Snow Hill, Washington, Wilson and Winterville.

Camps Rainbow and Hope were made possible this year by the Children’s Miracle Network, the ECU Medical & Health Sciences Foundation, the Optimist Club of Garner, Dr. Linda Willis and Calvenia “C.J.” Moore, both of Rocky Mount, and individuals throughout North Carolina.