Camp Koru from behind Luna’s Lens

As a photographer, I fully endorse the old saying “ a picture is worth a thousand words.” That being the case, I could go on for hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of words about the incredible week in Maui spent amongst 20 incredible young adult cancer survivors and volunteers that was Athletes 4 Cancer’s Camp Koru 7.

Since that would require a full-length novel, rather than a newsletter, I invite you to step behind the lens to see what I saw – the incredible beauty, determination, and resilience of some amazing human beings determined to live life to the fullest, despite some serious roadblocks thrown up along the way.

A cancer survivor of 13 years myself, I was excited and honored to be a part of this program as camp volunteer and photographer, and I remember thinking nervously on my way out to Maui that I hoped my photos would do the experience justice, that I would be able to adequately capture the beauty and spirit and importance of the journey for the participants.  Turns out that was needless worry -  we could not have asked for a more beautiful, healing, nurturing environment than the rolling hills, bamboo forests, and warm inviting waters of Maui.

As for the participants – I was, with each passing day, simply stunned by the images appearing on my screen, as I realized how easy they made my job. The excitement and pure joy as they stood up on a surfboard for the first time, stand-up-paddled with sea turtles, or simply goofed around on the beach with new friends radiated pure and true, straight through the lens.  I was simply reflecting the incredible beauty and radiance emanating from some remarkable human beings. I saw childlike glee and smiles light up the faces of these young people who have already had to experience much beyond their years.

One of the most amazing aspects of camp was how it brought the participants together – some of them told me they had never personally been in the company of other young adult cancer survivors. Although everyone had different backgrounds, diagnoses, stories and prognoses, it was evident that a special bond formed between them in a very short period of time, but will undoubtedly last a lifetime. Thinking back to my cancer diagnosis at age 19, my heart was filled with happiness that everyone at Camp Koru had received and embraced, with open arms, such a special opportunity.

As a certified scuba diving instructor and underwater photographer who has had the good fortune to live, dive, surf and play in various oceans worldwide, I have long known the healing power of the water. To bear witness to my fellow survivors experiencing this – some of them for the first time – well, in this instance pictures ARE truly worth a thousand words! The warm waters of Maui carried us as we stood tall on the surf boards, supported us as we swam with sea turtles, and blessed us with traditional Hawaiian prayers. We probably did more in and on the water in the space of a week than many people have the chance to do in their entire lifetimes – surfing, stand up paddling, snorkeling, whale watching, outrigger canoeing – each day was packed in from sunup to sundown and I for one went to sleep blissfully exhausted each night.

        

Before we turned in each night, we all gathered around the campfire for tiki time – a chance to slow down, breathe deep, gaze up at the stars, and reflect upon the amazing experiences, achievements, realizations and discoveries of the day.  Connecting and reconnecting – with our peers, as fellow cancer survivors – with ourselves, as human beings, with all of our struggles, challenges, imperfections, conquests, victories, smiles, tears, sadness and joy. We laughed, we cried, we hugged, we surfed our brains out – and I think we all left feeling just a little bit lighter. Some of us back to jobs, others back to school, and yet others back to treatment.  But despite the geographic distance which now separates us, we remain united as an “ohana,” strengthened by this unexpected consequence of the curveball life threw us. And for this, I say – MAHALO! ALOHA!

~ Tamar/Luna

  

“Faces of survivorship” – 5253, 6473, 5327, 4896, 4792, 6463

Kalele’s Ohana

This post is an excerpt from a blog of a survivor who attended one of our spring camps. She forwarded me the link and I thought it would be nice to share…

A cool breeze rifles my hair from the hammock under the vanilla tree just steps from the aqua blue waters of the Pacific ocean off the coast of Maui. A week ago I arrived as a newcomer to this island, and a stranger to the fourteen other cancer survivors who shared this special place with me. Now we, as well as the staff and other teachers we have had the good fortune to interact with this week are ohana – “family” in Hawaiian.

This incredible experience was provided to us through an organization called Athletes 4 Cancer whose mission is to enrich lives impacted by cancer through the healing power of the elements and the tenacity of the human spirit. They fulfill that mission with surfing, stand up paddle boarding and snowboarding camps for cancer survivors in Hawaii and Hood River, Oregon. Camp Koru is healing in so many ways. At the outset, just the connection with the incredible beauty of this place and its natural wonders: the water, fragrant flowering plants and the towering volcanic peaks provide a sense of peace not readily available in the fast-pace of the mainland.

For some, just being in the ocean was a new experience that required them to overcome a fear of the unknown. For others, sharing their story for the first time with other survivors was an opportunity to connect with those who have been there. Putting words to an experience that engenders such turbulent emotions is not always easy, but definitely feels safer with someone who has walked a mile in your shoes. With our scars, buckets of meds and all their assorted side effects, sometimes unusual diets, prosthetic and missing parts, not to mention the emotional impacts of facing your own mortality, we can sometimes feel like misfits among the general population. But here, we are just like everyone else, or even realize perhaps that we didn’t have it so bad, after all….

Continue reading Kalele’s full experience and what she got out of it here >

And some images from Kalele’s Camp Koru experience…

A photo journal from three talented photographers, visually communicating the magic of CONNECTION during our spring survivorship camps

I was putting off writing about our spring survivorship camps because no words can really describe what happens. Photos do. So, here is our photo journal from Camps 6, 7, and 8 and the amazing photographers who donated their time to cisually communicate the magic that happens at camp.

Camp 6 – Photographer:  Tracy Kraft Leboe

       

Camp 7 — Photographer: Tamar Melen

 

Camp 8 — Photographer: Richard Hallman

  

Boards of Hope invites artists to transform recycled boards into works of art, hope.

Boards of Hope DEADLINE EXTENDED TO JULY 1!!!

Boards of Hope is an Athletes 4 Cancer project that brings artists and the boards we ride together to benefit young lives affected by cancer. The 2013 theme for Boards of Hope is
HEALING IN THE ELEMENTS. However you interpret that theme in your board project is completely up to you!

Boards of Hope invites all artists to transform recycled boards of all types into canvases for stunning works of art, based on the theme, HEALING IN THE ELEMENTS.  Accepted boards include surfboards, kiteboards, skateboards, skimboards and snowboards.

Select survivor and professional artists’ boards will be featured in a silent auction at Kiteboarding for Cancer July 13-14th, 2013.  Proceeds will benefit Athletes 4 Cancer Survivorship Programs and OHSU Knight Cancer Institute’s Adolescent & Young Adult Oncology Program.  Selected artists be featured on the Athletes 4 Cancer and Kiteboarding 4 Cancer website and on flyers at the event. All artists, from professional to amateur are encouraged to submit their work.

The History of Boards of Hope

Boards of Hope began when Athletes 4 Cancer’s founder, Tonia Farman, brought art supplies, recycled papers, wood, and mixed media to her brother, Scott’s, bedside at Seattle’s Children’s Hospital. He was undergoing a long battle with leukemia and found a sense of calm and purpose in art. His organs and body were weak, but his soul poured out with life in his artwork. Mixed media and collage became his channel of expression, therapy and healing. His works became an inspiration for Boards of Hope.

Two Levels of Artist Submissions
Professional Artists: Interested in your work being highlighted for a good cause? Submit an Artist’s Bio to tonia @ athletesforcancer.org. If selected as a feature artist, you and your artwork board will be featured in advance of the event in event publicity. Submit your board by June 1st. Check art specs below.

Amateur Artists: Submit your board by July 1st. Check art specs below. Please submit questions and submissions to tonia @ athletes4cancer.org.

The Boards of Hope exhibit will be on display at Kiteboarding 4 Cancer July 13 & 14th. The main exhibit and auction will take place July 14th at the Kiteboarding 4 Cancer Boards of Hope tent at the Hood River Event Site, with the live auction at 6:00 pm.

Athletes 4 Cancer’s Survivorship Programs for Young Adults with Cancer video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUv-3QAfyLM&list=PL8E5505E7B57F94A1

If you are a professional artist and are interested in making a submission to Boards of Hope, email your Artist Bio to tonia@athletes4cancer.org.

Artist Specifications:

• Artists must obtain their own recycled boards and art supplies to create board.
• NO standup paddleboards or windsurf boards.
• Complete the Board Submission Form.
• Finished piece must be sealed with a protective and archival sealant
• Boards are not intended to be ridden after artwork
• Artists are encouraged to use acrylics, acrylic paint pens, sharpies and collage mediums.
• Works must be completed and delivered by June 1st.
• All submissions are donations to Athletes 4 Cancer and will be auctioned off at Kiteboarding 4 Cancer’s Live Auction at the Hood River Event Site Saturday, July 13th.

We strongly encourage SURVIVORS & FIGHTERS to submit their art!

The North Face Awards Explore Fund Grant to Athletes 4 Cancer – supports a national effort to increase outdoor exploration among young adults affected by cancer

We are so stoked to have North Face as a supporting partner in our Camp Koru program!! Here’s the full press release…

Hood River, OR – January 10, 2012 – The North Face, has awarded an Explore Fund grant to Athletes 4 Cancer (A4C) for their Camp Koru Cancer Survivorship Program. The Explore Fund’s mission is to inspire and enable the next generation of explorers by funding non-profit organizations that are working to re-connect children with nature. By encouraging an active healthy lifestyle and protection of our natural landscapes, a stronger connection of youth and young adults to the outdoors can be nurtured.

Camp Koru’s primary focus is to help rebuild lives after cancer.  A4C uses adventure-based experiences such as surfing, outrigger canoeing, standup paddling and snowboarding, as channels of healing and life-renewal that treat the mind, body, and soul. Athletes for Cancer’s programs, such as Camp Koru, aim to help young survivors not just survive, but thrive in all aspects of life.  Athletes 4 Cancer was selected from more than 900 applications submitted for the first of two grant cycles in 2012.

Since The North Face Explore Fund was initiated in 2010, The North Face has provided more than $1 Million in grants to non-profits all over the world working to connect youth to the outdoors, with more than three quarters of that going to programs in the United States.

We are very pleased and grateful to receive support from The North Face Explore Fund,” said Tonia Farman, executive director of Athletes 4 Cancer. “We truly believe in the physical, emotional and social benefits of connecting young people with the outdoors, and this funding will help us continue to provide that experience to young cancer survivors.”

The Camp Koru program was established in 2010 to further expand A4C’s mission of harnessing the healing power of the elements with outdoor adventure. Since it’s founding, the program has run six camp programs that focus on, and directly impact, small groups of 16 survivors each.  Set in a safe and supportive environment, participants are first instructed with the proper tools, then encouraged to make their own confident decisions in the ocean (surfing, standup paddling) just as in life. These individuals discover that they can overcome fears of something they never thought they could do, sharing their experiences with their peers at camp, and leaving with a new outlook on facing life after cancer. The impact reaches beyond camp, inspiring participants to be agents and change and embrace life while influencing friends, family, and other survivors, to do the same.

Athletes 4 Cancer has been able to advance the mission exponentially with the support of partner organizations such as the John Wayne Cancer Foundation (JWCF) and the Seattle Foundation. JWCF and Athletes 4 Cancer share a mutual vision for harnessing the healing powers of physical activity and the outdoors in the fight against cancer.  This synergy led to JWCF support and inspiration to Athletes 4 Cancer for launching the Camp Koru program.

“There can be so many barriers to getting kids outdoors, whether it be a disability, health resources or simply a lack of access. A large percentage of the grants went toward funding organizations that are addressing these issues by providing access and education,” said Ann Krcik, director of Outdoor Exploration at The North Face. “We believe that if you can get kids to love the outdoors, not only will they develop skills that will help them throughout life, but they will grow up to care about their natural world, protecting and conserving the wild places they explore”

Camp Koru will launch on March 17, 2013 for two sessions in Maui, Hawaii. To learn more about Athletes 4 Cancer and Camp Koru visit http://www.athletes4cancer.org   For more information about The North Face Explore Fund, please visit www.explorefund.org

About Athletes 4 Cancer

Athletes 4 Cancer is dedicated to enriching lives impacted by cancer through the healing power of the elements and the tenacity of the human spirit. Essentially, Athletes 4 Cancer rebuilds lives after cancer. Athletes 4 Cancer focuses on rebuilding and renewing lives after cancer through outdoor adventure.

About The North Face®

The North Face, a division of VF Outdoor, Inc., was founded in 1968. Headquartered in San Leandro, California, the company offers the most technically advanced products in the market to accomplished climbers, mountaineers, snowsport athletes, endurance athletes, and explorers. The company’s products are sold in specialty mountaineering, backpacking, running, and snowsport retailers, premium-sporting goods retailers and major outdoor specialty retail chains.

APPLY HERE FOR ALL CAMPS

Apply today for our March 25-31 Surf & SUP Camp! There is still space and time left to get in! Other camps with availability include…

April 11-14 — Ski & Snowboard Mini-Camp, Mt. Hood Oregon
Oct. 17-23 — Surf & SUP Full Camp, Maui Hawaii
Oct. 28 – Nov. 3 — Surf & SUP Full Camp, Maui Hawaii

2012 Impact

 

Oliver, the Gift of Life (Or, when-beautiful-things-happen after camp.)

This was shared to me by Dash, one of our Camp Koru Ambassadors, who attended Camp Koru in April 2012. Her story is fitting this time of year, revealing that sometimes the best gifts don’t come with a price tag. You can also watch her story via video here.

Shared by Dash —  November 27, 2012:

It was mother’s day, 2011 when I found out that I would never have biological children.  My pathology report showed uterine papillary serous carcinoma, a rare and aggressive form of endometrial cancer. There was no time for harvesting my eggs. The cancer was growing so fast that my odds of surviving were decreasing with each week.

During treatment I didn’t have time to mourn the loss of my fertility–I was focused on surviving. After almost a year, I was declared in remission and had one of those dramatic, made-for-TV moments. I went into the changing room at the cancer center and let myself slide down the wall and slump in to a little ball.  After putting aside my emotions for a year to survive treatment I let myself feel for the first time.

In the coming months I began to mourn everything that cancer took from me. Physically I was exhausted and weak.  Emotionally I was reeling in a deep, desperate pain. Infertility was a crushing blow to how I had always imagined my life. I daydreamed about what my children would have looked like. I blamed myself for putting my career first and waiting for the “right time” to get pregnant. I wondered if my husband wanted to leave me now that I couldn’t carry a child. I began to get angry. I listened to my friends with children complain about how their kids were “driving them crazy”, I celebrated friends’ pregnancies, I politely answered strangers when they asked me if I had kids, I attended baby showers — all the while feeling like I was dying inside.

The first time I felt hope was in the van ride from the Maui Airport to Camp Koru. Connecting with other young adult survivors showed me there was life after cancer. I didn’t feel the desolate isolation anymore.  Sitting on the surf board in the warm Hawaiian waters staring out into the horizon, I could feel hope growing inside me.

Beginning to heal made me want to once again plan for the future and my husband and I decided to adopt. A few months ago we got the phone call that we had been chosen by a young birthmother to receive a beautiful baby boy. When we met I asked her why she had chosen me — “I knew if you could survive cancer, you were strong enough to raise a baby”. Coincidentally, her mother and I had been diagnosed with cancer at the same time. We had received chemo at the same hospital, sometimes even on the same days. The one reason I thought that no one would want to give me a child was precisely why I had been chosen.

My ‘ohana, meet Oliver and thank you for welcoming him into our family.

~ Dash, Camp Koru April 2012

Camp Koru was a life-changing (and life-giving) gift for Dash. Consider giving the gift of a life-changing experience.

Hiring — I mean fundraising? — for a Program Director

We need to hire a Program Director.

I have been developing, planning, and executing our programs to date, but it’s too much of its own position for me to do myself anymore. This is a beautiful point in our journey at A4C that I can say this with such confidence. Even a year ago, I hesitated with this statement. Now I am literally shouting it out at every opportunity with enthusiasm. In fact, let me change that statement…  WE ARE HIRING A PROGRAM DIRECTOR!

The Challenge

There’s one BIG challenge when creating a paid position in a non-profit and finding a way to pay for it. No one wants to donate to pay for a salary. It’s not sexy.  Here’s why it is sexy….

None of the ground-breaking, life-changing, world-improving work would happen without people to make it happen. This position in particular is so vital to life for many cancer survivors. Without it, we will be turning many applicants away and thus shutting the door on finding life after this crappy disease. With it, we’ll be creating life-transforming opportunities for teens and young adults to find life and direction after cancer.  This is how. (If you need any heart-tugging at all, click on that link.) And, your contributions are tax-deductible.

$120,000 by December 31, 2012

We are always fully transparent about raising funds and where they go. That said, the goal of our upcoming end-of-year campaign is to raise the capital for this position’s salary. We want it to be sustainable and long-term, so we’re setting our goal for 3 years worth of salary.

If you can appreciate the importance of building solid infrastructure for a sustainable future and hiring good people to make the great work happen, please consider donating to this campaign.

Advise over dollars

Are you a leader in marketing, communications, finance, business development, or programs and have a little time to be an advisor to Athletes for Cancer? We are seeking board members and advisors. Invest a little time in helping us develop, strengthen, and sustain our program, and it just might change your life too.  Please email me if you are interested at the email below.

Read all about it

If you would like more information on our programs, you can read about them on our website or please email me at Tonia (at) athletes4cancer.org.

And if you know of someone who might be an extraordinary candidate for this position who would like to live and work in Pacific Northwest paradise, you can forward them to me as well!

Change a life and win standup paddleboard! Top fundraiser between Thanksgiving and New Year’s wins a new standup paddleboard, thanks to Suplove Boards!

Yes, it’s true, and that simple. Top fundraiser between Thanksgiving (Nov. 22) and New Year’s (Dec. 31), 2012 wins their very own standup paddleboard, courtesy of SUPLove SUP Boards. The board has a beautiful bamboo finish with a custom Paddle 4 Cancer deck pad made just for Athletes for Cancer’s fundraiser!

• To be eligible, create a fundraising page as an A4C Ambassador here.
• If you already have a fundraising page as an A4C Ambassador via the Ambassador page, just continue fundraising and your totals will count toward the prize.
• If you have a fundraising page for a different A4C event, simply create a new fundraising page on the A4C Ambassador page. This page communicates what A4C does, with a telling video, photos, and donation information.

When you have your page set up (it takes, like, 10 seconds), give a shout out to your friends and family and tell them what you’re doing. Have your own experience with cancer? Share it! Have a story about Camp Koru? Tell it! You can customize the content of your page and your message to potential donors.

If you have any questions, email us (info at athletes4cancer.org). Thank you for your support, good luck and Happy Turkey Day!