Our camp has a special needs inclusion program in which children are mainstreamed.
Session Lengths: 2 Weeks
Explore Sunrise Day Camp-Long Island
The Sunrise Day Camp-Long Island Story
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 31/2–16, 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. Today, Sunrise Day Camps are located on Long Island & in Pearl River, New York, and two in Israel, and are affiliated with 22 renowned hospitals and medical centers. Sunrise Sundays and Fun-days offer children exciting activities and events when school is not in session; Sunrise on Wheels is a one-of-a-kind program that provides hours of Sunrise-fun to children undergoing treatment in pediatric oncology units of participating hospitals.
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 Sunrise Day Camps, Year-Round Programs and In-Hospital Recreational Activities, all offered free of charge.
Featured Activities at Sunrise Day Camp-Long Island
Deanna Slade has been a camper and staff member of multiple camps throughout her life. She attended Surprise Lake Camp as a young girl and then worked at Merrick Woods Day Camp as part of the art staff for 2 years as a teenager. She continued her summer camp experience by spending the next few summers as a bunk counselor and art specialist at Lakota. This type of exposure to camping led her to understand the importance of camp in general. “It helped shape who I am and created bonds that will remain in my life forever. This is irreplaceable.”
Further along in Deanna’s life, she chose to attain her Bachelors Degree in Fine Arts and Design. She attributes much of this decision to her art experience in camp. She continued on this path and began to work at Sunrise as the Art Director in 2006. Shortly after she also added her exceptional touch to Sunrise Sundays and Sunrise Fun-days, seeming to be a week's worth of fun and play packed into one day. In 2009, She received her Masters Degree in Art Education.
In 2014 Deanna became Camp Director of Sunrise Day Camp. Deanna says, “I am so honored to be such an integral part of this organization. Each person I work with has an astounding sense of love, warmth and compassion. The campers continue to fill my heart with joy and laughter. Being at Sunrise is uplifting...and is truly a special place.”
"Hosting Shlichim during the summers remains a wonderful experience for our family. Each year we meet dynamic and fascinating young Israelis with whom we maintain contact long after the summer has gone. Our kids are the greatest beneficiaries of the experience, finding in the Shlichim individuals who they come to regard as older siblings. It is an event we look forward to every year with good reason and plan on continuing for years to come."
- Soberman Family, The Jack and Pat Kay Centre Camp, Prosserman JCC
Connecting with Israel
“Although it was so new, Israel brought upon me a familiar sense of belonging much like what I feel at Camp Chi every summer. The ability to be in a place where one feels so free and proud to be a Jew is a feeling that makes me so proud to be involved in my Jewish heritage.”
- Joshua Krawitz, 17, Camp Chi, JCC Chicago
- Joshua Krawitz, 17, Camp Chi, JCC Chicago