The Sunrise STEAM Team — started by a group of 10 Long Island teens — is dedicated to raising money and awareness for Sunrise Day Camp-Long Island and the Sunrise STEAM Shack initiative to help build children’s futures beyond cancer, through STEAM — science, technology, engineering, art and math.
The team includes Justin Hertz, Ryan Rabinowitz, Maia Kirschner, Alexandra Carvajal, Alex Collins, Benny Mark, Jason Koty, Sloane Levine, Miles Miller and Sarah Faber.
When a child is diagnosed with cancer, the pain and suffering they endure is unfathomable. It also turns the entire family’s world upside down in ways never before imagined.
Sunrise Day Camp–Long Island is the world’s first full-summer day camp for children with cancer and their siblings, provided completely free of charge.
Providing memorable summers since 2006 for children ages 3 through 16, 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.
Sunrise Day Camp-Long Island, located in Wheatley Heights, boasts lush woods, grassy hills, open meadows and private swim complexes. Campers experience typical camp activities including swim, basketball, mini-golf, baseball, volleyball, nature, yoga, arts and crafts, music, drama and more — all modified to meet the needs of children with cancer.
Sunrise Day Camp-Long Island is a proud member of the Sunrise Association, whose mission is to bring back the joys of childhood to children with cancer and their siblings world-wide, through the creation of Day Camps, Year-Round Programs and In-Hospital Recreational Activities, all offered free of charge.
When a child has cancer, they spend extended time in the hospital and out-patient clinics. Missing a tremendous amount of school due to their compromised immune system, they often fall behind their peers.
Last year, a new program, the STEAM Shack, was introduced offering computer programming, 3D design and printing, robotics, engineering projects and more. The program is not only available at camp but also through the Sunrise Association’s Sunrise on Wheels, an innovative program which brings camps to children awaiting treatment in the hospitals.
Currently the STEAM Team is raising money to build an Interactive Gear Wall for the new Sunrise STEAM Shack Sunrise Day Camp. Gear Walls are designed around an extremely important educational concept, fun.
The colorful and sturdy gears provide children with an open and playful environment to create their own experiments and challenges while learning about the power and function of gear ratios and simple machines. “Our goal is to raise at least $5,000 to build the wall,” said Justin Hertz, one of the group’s founders, “and help Sunrise continue to provide summers filled with fun, laughter, adventure and exploration.”
The STEAM Team, headed by the 10 Ambassadors, currently has 40 new members and is continually growing. For teens interested in joining, please the ambassadors at info@STEAMShack.org.
For more information on this initiative, please visit facebook.com/www.SteamShack.org.
