During this summer’s “Finding a Hero in You at Camp” program, Gift of Life partnered with the Foundation for Jewish Camp and held 32 donor recruitment drives at 28 different summer camps across the United States. Among the camps included were Camp Kutz, Camp Shwayder, Ramah Day Camp, and BHE Camp. Camp staff members and visiting friends and families of campers were among the 907 people swabbed, helping to increase the worldwide bone marrow registry.

Each camp had its own unique experience, and some amazing stories resulted from the drives. The camps educated their staff about how easy it can be to save a life, and that we are all responsible for caring for one another. Many Gift of Life ambassadors were given the chance to share their story and to educate their audience about the benefits of becoming a registered donor. Staff members were then given the opportunity to swab their cheeks, making the concept of pikuach nefesh (saving a life) very real.

At Ramah Day Camp in Nyack, three different individuals told their stories. Donors Avi and Alan shared their experiences to encourage others to take the step of becoming a registered donor. The staff members even had the opportunity to hear from one of their own, Dan. He is a former donor and shared his story of donating to a stranger and saving a life; he even added that his sister had recently donated, as well. Their testimonies were powerful and it gave their listeners the chance to hear about the process of donating bone marrow or PBSC from someone who has already gone through the experience.

During staff week at BHE Camp, which is nestled in the Berkshire Hills, Vic and Bruce, a donor/recipient pair, shared their story to members of the staff; their audience was able to hear both sides of the story, giving them first-hand knowledge of how it feels to donate and to see the results of saving someone else’s life. After the men shared their testimony, staff was given the opportunity to swab their cheek and join the registry. One camp, Surprise Lake, even had an alumnus who was a donor send a message to camp via a taped DVD for staff to watch.

Though the summer only just ended, Ruth Miller and Paige Lamarche, recruitment coordinators for Gift of Life, are already planning next summer, hoping to make it bigger and better. This year was very successful, and they hope to build on that. Ruth believes that “Jewish Summer Camps have always provided campers and staff with highly impactful experiences. By allowing The Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation to share its life saving work with so many future donors we are helping our patients not only by the testing done at camp but with the knowledge and passion that campers, staff and parents will bring home to their communities and college campuses.”

For more information on the summer camp program, email camp@giftoflife.org or call 1-800-962-7769.