Life-changing moments can come out of nowhere—for Plainview’s Tracy Rosenblatt, it came in a thank you note.
Rosenblatt, a Bank Street College graduate pursuing a Master of Science in child life, has worked as a counselor, assistant unit head and unit head at Sunrise Long Island since 2010. There, she oversees the activities and safety of a group of 30 counselors and 80 campers at Sunrise Day Camps, the nation’s only dedicated day camps for children with cancer and their siblings.
One summer, Rosenblatt received a thank you letter from one of campers, a second-grade boy battling cancer. The note read, “I’m sure you would rather do other things than spend your summer with so many sick kids, but this particular sick kid wants you to know that it really means a lot having you there.”
After reading those big, jaunty letters written with a charm only a 7-year-old could muster, Rosenblatt knew exactly what she wanted to do with her life.
“Seconds after reading his card, I knew I wanted to build a career out of helping children with life threatening illnesses,” she said. “As I reminisce about the beautiful memories I’ve formed at camp, I can only wonder: does that 7-year-old boy know he changed my life in that thank you note?”
Rosenblatt’s story of thankfulness was enough to win her a share of a $10,000 Toulmin Healthcare Scholarship from the Toulmin Foundation, a Dayton, OH-based company that committed to awarding four $2,500 scholarships for tuition and other academic expenses for students who have worked at Sunrise Day Camps on Long Island, in Israel and in Pearl River, NY.
“The Sunrise Association is pleased to partner with The Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation to award scholarships for full-time baccalaureate, graduate or associate degree program students in a healthcare related field who have worked for a summer at any of the Sunrise Day Camps,” said Michele Vernon, Sunrise Association Senior Vice President for Camping and Related Services. “The experience that campers gain in self-reliance, self-esteem, optimism, and social interactions are just part of the far-reaching and life-changing benefits of camp.”
Vernon said Sunrise Day Camps bring the simple pleasures of childhood back to children struggling with cancer, changing months of loneliness and isolation into summers filled with sunshine, laughter and happiness. And because Sunrise is a day camp, it does all this while allowing the children to continue their medical treatment and enjoy the comfort and safety of their own homes at night.
“Parents and healthcare providers regularly report that positive changes that children make at camp transfer to the home and community setting resulting in overall improvements in quality of life,” said Vernon. “Counselors, too, take home a healthy dose of camp spirit that infuses their own futures.”
Another local scholarship winner was Woodbury-native Layne Morowitz, a second-year medical student at Stony Brook University School of Medicine. Morowitz served as a unit head for two years at Sunrise. In a 30-page research paper that earned her the scholarship, Morowitz summed up her approach to volunteering for the campers.
“Each morning as I walk into Sunrise Day Camp, I take a moment to set my intention for the day. I tell myself, ‘I will make today the best day ever.’ This message is reflected in our leadership staff meeting as we prepare for a day scheduled with swimming, sports, arts and crafts, music, photography, a ropes course and more. We are empowered with these words as we await the arrival of nearly 300 campers.”
