Campers Dunk Their Kicks This Summer to Help Fight Pediatric Cancer
Portland, ME (PRWEB) July 09, 2014 -- This summer, more than a thousand kids from across the country who attend Maine Camp Experience summer camps, will participate in Maxcure Foundation’s Dunk Your Kicks. Campers and staff will donate used sneakers, which get refurbished and resold, at their Maine summer camp to raise money to fight pediatric cancer.
“Through the Maine Camp experience partnership, Maine camps collected well over 1,000 pairs of sneakers last summer, and we aim to beat that number in 2014 with even more camps joining,” said Maine Camp Experience spokesperson Laurie Kaiden. “Dunk Your Kicks is an exciting and meaningful way to engage campers as part of the Maine camps’ ongoing and longstanding commitment to social action.”
In addition to having 20 Maine camps participate in Dunk Your Kicks, Maxcure Foundation founder David Plotkin will embark on a six-camp tour of events at host camps the week of July 14. Campers will donate their used sneakers by dunking their kicks through basketball hoops and into receptacles. This year, Maine campers will also enjoy additional “Field Day” type activities (e.g., tug-of-war, wheelbarrow race with sneakers on hands) with the donated sneakers as they learn about giving back. Maine Camp Experience partners Camp Trucking and Camp Baggage will help transport collected sneakers to Maxcure Foundation.
“Raising awareness to fight pediatric cancer is a very personal and important cause, and the partnership with Maine Camp Experience has been a good entrée to bringing Dunk Your Kicks to kids at camp,” said David Plotkin, Maxcure Foundation founder. “I’m looking forward to heading back to Maine camps this summer for the events and the lasting impact the program has on kids.”
Camp families donate their used sneakers by sending them up in their kids’ camp trunks, mailing them to the camps, and bringing them to camper drop off/pick ups and Visiting Days. Campers can also donate their used sneakers at camps at the end of the summer and parents can bring more on Visiting Day. The program, which started at Maine camps last summer, continued throughout the past year with Dunk Your Kicks at some camp reunions, as well as individual campers and staff bringing the program to their hometowns and schools. One inspired 8-year-old Maine camper, Riley from New Jersey, even designed a beautiful poster for the cause. Dunk Your Kicks raises money for research and treatment, provides affordable footwear for those in need, and helps the environment by keeping the sneakers out of landfills. View our Dunk Your Kicks video for more details and to learn more about this wonderful program.
Summer planning and enrichment expert Jill Tipograph, founder of Everything Summer, said, “It’s never too early to instill in children how important it is to give back. Camp, a place for ongoing growth and development, sparks interest and awareness of new activities. When you start philanthropy young, it becomes natural and something kids make part of their lives, which is more organic than just trying to fit it in anew when teens have community service requirements to meet.”
For years, campers in Maine have been actively involved in social action, including: Camp Sunshine, a Maine Camp Experience camp dedicated to kids with life threatening illnesses and their families, working with food pantries and senior care centers, as well as on environmental causes.
Maine Camp Experience is a community of 33 premier, traditional sleepaway summer camps in Maine dedicated to providing children with the highest quality summer camp experiences in the country for generations.
Mainecampexperience.com is the resource for selecting camp and planning visits to Maine. The site features a Guide who personally assists families, videos, real Maine Camp Memories self-posted by camp families, and special offers such as the current partnership with JetBlue TrueBlue where families earn travel points by enrolling or referring other campers who enroll by September 1 for summer 2015. Now’s the time to book summer tours for 2015 camp registration. Summers and Camp Belong in Maine … And So Do You!℠
Maxcure Foundation is registered 501(c)(3) not-for-profit public charity dedicated to fighting pediatric cancer.
Contact: Laurie, Maine Camp Experience: laurie(at)mainecampexperience(dot)com
Facebook: Facebook.com/MaineCampExperience
Twitter: Twitter.com/MaineCamps
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Instagram: Instagram.com/MaineCamps
Laurie Kaiden, Maine Camp Experience, http://www.mainecampexperience.com, +1 917-593-2982, [email protected]
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