camp good days

Say the words “summer camp” to someone who attended one as a kid and watch a smile spread across their face, their gaze drifting off into space, as they recall endless fun in the great outdoors with their new best friends. 

photo: amanda martin

That’s what Camp Good Days offers to children from Western New York and beyond who are living with cancer, have a parent or sibling battling cancer, have lost a family member to cancer, or have been touched by sickle cell anemia. 

Camp Good Days is a beautiful property on Keuka Lake in Branchport, New York. Beyond the camp itself, the organization has regional offices in Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse that offer local activities and programming throughout the year for people with cancer–including special programming aimed at children under 18 years old, young adults ages 18 to 39, and women 18 and older–and children under 18 affected by cancer in their families. The camp, and all of these year-round regional activities, are free of charge to all participants. 

“The primary purpose of Camp Good Days is to give back the childhood that cancer stole,” says Camp Good Days Chief Operating Officer and Western New York Regional Director Lisa Booz. “We might not be able to change the course of their illness, but what we can provide is some good days and special times.”

The camp’s roots go back more than four decades. In 1979, Elizabeth “Teddi” Mervis was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor at the age of nine. Her father, Gary Mervis, traveled the country to major medical centers seeking the best possible treatment for his daughter. He returned home without the answers he had sought and realized that it was not the craniotomy, radiation therapy, or chemotherapy causing Teddi the most pain, but rather the loneliness of being the only child in her neighborhood and school dealing with cancer.

With the help and support of many friends and members of the community, Gary founded Camp Good Days and Special Times, Inc., a nonprofit organization, to provide Teddi and children like her the opportunity to experience the joys of summer camp with people who could truly understand what they were going through–other children with cancer. Since its inception, Camp Good Days has served more than 50,000 campers from all 50 states and 36 countries. It is a model for other cancer treatment centers and organizations around the world. 

“I had the privilege of visiting Camp Good Days last summer during a week specifically for children who had lost a parent or sibling to cancer, and was impressed, and so moved,” says Univera Healthcare President Art Wingerter, whose health plan is the presenting sponsor of the The World’s Largest Disco, an annual event in Buffalo, New York, that has raised over $7 million for Camp Good Days over the past 30 years. “For families facing life’s toughest challenges, the camp offers support, compassion, camaraderie, and joy.”

Learn more about Camp Good Days, including how to benefit from its programs, attend the camp, and support its mission, online at campgooddays.org.