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Let Their Hearts Be Light

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By YVETTE C. HAMMETT, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 8, 2007

BRANDON - Christmas took center stage last weekend for 75 children who put their cares behind them to concentrate on just plain fun.

It's something they rarely get to do.

When a child has cancer, the family dynamic changes.

"There's lots of hovering by parents," said Peggie Sherry, who runs a holiday camp each year for children suffering from cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. Sherry is director of the Faces of Courage Foundation.

Parents aren't invited to the camp. But siblings are, as well as hundreds of volunteers who buddy up with the youngsters, helping them make gifts for their families or teaching them to paddle a kayak or paint a face on a reindeer. Sometimes, children just enjoy a leisurely walk around Rotary's Camp Florida off Lakewood Drive.

The yearly camp is a community collaboration.

The Tampa Carrollwood Rotary Club teams up with Faces of Courage each year to rent the camp for the Santa's Workshop Weekend. The club also buys food and cooks meals for campers and volunteers.

The American Legion Unit 152 makes quilts for each camper.

Santa's buddies, scores of high school and college students, spend the weekend helping make the camp a special experience for the children and their brothers and sisters.

"They can come here and be sick but never deal with their illness while they're here," said Sherry, a three-time cancer survivor. She said if the children need medical help, it's there. But nobody dwells on illness.

Charlotte Lambert, a 24-year-old from Seminole, has been attending camp since she was 8, initially accompanying her brother, who suffered from three bouts of leukemia from age 5 to 11. Lambert, who lost her father to the same type of leukemia her brother had, serves as a counselor.

Camps such as Santa's Workshop Weekend enable cancer patients and those suffering from sickle cell anemia or hemophilia to forge new friendships, Lambert said.

"We lose about eight kids a year, but to come here and see these kids that spend so much time in the hospital, it's one of those heartfelt experiences you never forget," she said before turning her attention to Olivia Evans-Theiler, a 7-year-old camper eager to tie-dye a T-shirt.

Olivia dyed a shirt for her mom and one for herself.

"This is so much fun," said another child, 7-year-old Samantha Watkins, as she dunked her T-shirt into the red dye and wrung it out. "I get to do all the squeezing."

Santa's Workshop is a favorite stop at the camp, where youngsters can choose gifts for their parents and other relatives. The "elves" decorate the gifts with colorful packaging.

The gifts are donated year-round by groups from across the region.

Denzel Saintvil, 5, found plenty to fill his Christmas list. A Barbie for his sister, bath and shower gel and a necklace for his mother and a miniature monster truck for himself. His grown-up buddy, Evelin Perez, reminded him to grab something for his brother, as well.

It was chaos in progress, with kids shopping, elves cutting paper and bows and wrapping gifts and youngsters in any given area laughing or shouting in delight.

Outside, camper Darbie Atkinson, 9, of St. Petersburg, shared a big hug with Sherry, who has known her for years. Darbie has been cancer-free for six years but continues to attend camp each year.

"Once we get them in our camp, they're ours," Sherry said.

Because of the effects cancer and treatment can have on a body years later, survivors can't attend regular summer camps.

The bright side to that, Lambert said, is they all become like family.
FACES OF COURAGE
Here are some facts about the organization:

•Faces of Courage Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing life-enriching experiences for children and families touched by cancer and other life-threatening diseases.

•Peggie Sherry founded the organization 4 1/2 years ago with $100,000 of her own money. The organization operates with the help of sponsors and volunteers.

•The nonprofit organization serves 2,100 families throughout Florida. In addition to the children's camps, Faces of Courage holds weekend camps for adult cancer patients and survivors.

•Services are provided free.

•To find out how to donate cash or gifts to the foundation, go to www.facesofcourage .org.

Reporter Yvette C. Hammett can be reached at (813) 657-4532 or yhammett@tampatrib.com.

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