we serve a number of hospitals. Probably the
most famous similar organization is the Hole
in the Wall Camp, founded by the actor Paul
Newman in 1986, who was also a major donor
to Okizu during his lifetime, and his daughter
Nell still supports us. Paul would often say
that so many things came to him by sheer luck
in his life and he wanted to give back to kids
who were on the other side of luck — maybe to
even out the score a bit. Also, I must say that
while there are probably more than two dozen
camps similar to Camp Okizu, partly because
we’ve been around for 36 years, founded and
based in Marin, we are looked upon as the
country’s premier pediatric cancer camp, the
one others seek to emulate.
What is Camp Okizu’s budget? We operate
on an annual budget of $2.5 million. In 2000,
we purchased our 500-acre camp for $10 million and have now paid the mortgage down to
$1.4 million. September is Childhood Cancer
Awareness month and, fortunately, we’ve just
received a $1 million challenge grant from Dr.
Art and Debbie Ablin. Art is one of Okizu’s
founding pediatric oncology doctors, and if we
raise another $400,000, we will own our own
home free and clear.
How do you raise money? Okizu is supported
by individuals as well as foundations and corporations. Nothing is too big or too small. This
year a 4-year-old girl nicknamed Pink Lady
Bug emptied her piggy bank to help bring kids
with cancer to camp. Lately, a great deal of support has come from Neil and Kathy Hennessy,
the folks behind Novato’s Hennessy Fund, and
our newest corporate donor is Google. Oh, and,
remember when I mentioned Camp Okizu’s
Baseball Lunch? Well, San Francisco Giants
catcher Buster Posey and his wife, Kristen, have
taken up pediatric cancer as their main cause.
Finally, supermodel Christy Turlington, at one
time an Okizu counselor, made a nice donation, so we named one of our lakes at camp after
her father; it’s called Captain T’s Lake. There
are several ways to be involved with Okizu.
Individuals or companies can come to camp for
a work weekend or serve on our Okizu Council
that meets at places like Google and Pixar to
plan strategy. We want to make being a donor as
enjoyable and rewarding as being a camper is. m
La
Una Noche en
. . . . . . . . . . . . . HABANA
Benefiting Adopt A Family of Marin
The Clubhouse at Peacock Gap, 333 Biscayne Drive, San Rafael
Be swept away to this romantic era.
Black Tie, Old World Glamour Attire s Live, Silent & Wine Auctions
Cuban-inspired cuisine, island cocktails, live music & dancing
Tickets available at adoptafamily.ejoinme.org/habana
JOIN US
Saturday, October 7, 2017
Ross Valley Women’s League Presents
