[COMMUNICATED] By: Shaindy Feldbrand. ” Camp Shira… we can’t wait… only 26 days left till camp starts!”

That’s what I heard when I called the hotline again last night. Just like every night. I was already imagining myself there, with all my friends; Mommy had to call my name three times ’til I heard her and went to get ready for bed. Don’t tell, but while I was in my bed I heard Mommy tell Tatty (they were talking right near my door, it’s not my fault I heard) that she feels so sorry for us that we can’t go to day camp. I couldn’t believe it. I was so horrified. No day camp? What will I do? All my friends are going and they’re gonna have a blast.

I don’t think any sorry in the world is enough for how hard it’s gonna be for me. I’m gonna have to sit at home all day with nothing to do. It will be so hot. What’s gonna be? I can’t even imagine it.

Let me dial the hotline again. Maybe if I imagine it happening hard enough, it will…

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Today, my friend Shloimy asked me again which day camp I’m going to in the summer. I got so embarrassed but I remembered what Dini said and mumbled something about a family trip. Ugh! I hate Shloimy. He always gets me mad and embarrasses me.

But there’s something else I hate, I think even more than Shloimy. It’s staying home in the summer and not being able to go to day camp. It’s horrible. Me and all my sisters are stuck in the house all day, and the only “family trip” we have is a trip to the park near our house. My sisters and me fight all day (it’s not my fault, they always start up) and Mommy gets all mad and yells. I think she feels bad for us that we can’t go to day camp and she feels bad when she yells.

I try to explain to Mommy and Tatty that I want to go to day camp so badly. But my big sister Dini always pinches me and tells me to be quiet. Dini told me that Mommy and Tatty feel so bad we have to stay home in the summer. She also said that Tatty and Mommy want us to go to day camp so badly. They just can’t afford it. I don’t even know what that means. I just know that all the kids in my class came to school with brand new watches from their day camp and I wanted one also. Shloimy made sure to come and show me how fancy his watch is. I just want to go to day camp.

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I scrunched myself deep into the closet so that Abba and Ima wouldn’t hear. I pressed the cordless tightly to my ear and waited for the head counselors to finish their message. As soon as I heard the beep, I started talking; quickly and almost in a whisper. “I love calling your hotline each day. It sounds like your camp will be so much fun and I wish I could come. Do you think I could even if my parents don’t have money to pay for it? I wish. Please say yes. I have seven dollars and 27 cents saved up from Chanukah and Purim and I could give you that. I hope your answer will be yes. Please call me back – my name is Moishy and I live on 10th Street.

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Shocking as they may sound, scenarios such as those described above are not unusual or uncommon. They are a reflection of the struggle that many families face and the heartbreak that children experience in its wake. While thousands of children will smilingly set out for day camp at the end of the school year, too many will be forced to remain at home. The reason? Plain and simple: their parents can’t afford the steep price of day camp.

Hopefully, this year, it will no longer be so.

Enter Keren Hakayitz.

In a community known for its devotion to chesed and a plethora of organizations that are ready to serve the myriad needs of our kehilah, the brand new organization Keren Hakayitz is a most welcome addition. The mission of Keren HaKayitz is to enable children whose parents cannot afford the high cost of day came to enjoy a fabulous and productive summer by sponsoring the cost of day camp for them. Keren Hakayitz believes that the opportunity to attend day camp should be available to each and every child and thanks to the visionaries behind this new initiative, this dream is becoming a reality.

What was once considered a luxury is no longer so. Following a long school year of hard work, every kid deserves the chance to have a happy summer experience. As teachers and parents can attest, often a positive summer experience can carry a child through an entire year. “What camp can do for a kid,” attests R’ Shaya Leifer of Camp B’Lev Echad, “sometimes a full year of school cannot. Children have a chance to blossom and shine in ways they cannot in school.”

Unfortunately however, many families cannot afford the hefty price tag of sending their children to day camp. Day after day through the hot summer, these kids watch all their friends board the bus to camp, watch as they return with bright smiles and tales of the great time they had, while they remain at home, hot, edgy and bored. Comes the end of the summer and school begins, classmates excitedly share details of the fun they had, while the children who were forced to stay home in the summer due to lack of money have nothing to contribute and feel excluded, deprived and out of place.

“Every year we have parents who can’t afford camp call and beg us to give them a discount,” says R’ Shaya. “There are those who send in checks that eventually bounce, checks that come back stamped ‘account closed’, some kids come and no one ever pays for them. I’ve gotten applications filled out by the kid and submitted without a deposit check; most heartbreakingly are the messages that are left on our hotline in which the child begs us to allow him to come to camp even though his parents don’t have money to pay for it.”

And it is not just the children who pine for the break that day camp affords. “Having a brood of children home for weeks at a stretch is difficult not just for the children, but can be trying and stressful upon their parents as well,” stresses R’ Shaya. “Think of chol hamoed,” he continues. “Think of how difficult it is to entertain children for so many unstructured hours. Now imagine chol hamoed for four weeks, not four days. Add the soaring temperatures, the pritzus that is prevalent on the streets, and you have a very unhealthy situation.”

You are left with children who are left to their own devices, children who are bored and unoccupied, children who feel deprived and isolated. And it’s all due to lack of funding. “Every camp can absorb some of these kids; we each do what we can on our own level,” adds R’ Shaya, “but it is not enough to address the need.”

Thankfully, a devoted askan saw this need and Keren HaKayitz was founded. Keren Hakayitz has the haskama of prominent Lakewood Rabbanim: Rabbi Shlomo Gissinger, Rabbi Avraham Kamin, Rabbi Simcha Bunim Cohen, and Rabbi Henoch Shachar shlita. The money that is raised by the organization is turned over to a well known gabbai tzedakah who carefully distributes it to families that have been verified to be in significant need. Remarkably, the funds are given discreetly to the parents leaving the children blissfully unaware of how they were given the opportunity to go to camp; they are free to enjoy a wonderful and fruitful summer break with unmitigated joy.

Now comes the crucial part. How is such a wonderful organization funded?

This June, Keren HaKayitz introduces its inaugural and primary fundraiser: a Gala Bike-A-Thon. This exciting and fun event is open to boys in grade 4-8 and will feature entertainment, snacks, gifts and surprises. In the weeks leading up to the event, participating boys will raise money to benefit Keren Hakayitz and then will be able choose fabulous prizes from an unbelievable selection according to how much money they have collected. Besides for the prizes, this event will be a day to remember in itself, with fun bike-riding, free gifts, nash and drinks and to top it all off, an amazing Skyriders show at the very end. And best of all, the boy who raises the most money will win a beautiful bike!

This thrilling event will take place Sunday, June 28th at the Blue Claws Stadium. The boys will bike along a closed off trail around the Blue Claws Stadium. The Lakewood Police Department will block off streets and direct traffic.

Lots of planning and organizing goes into executing and major event such as this and Keren Hakayitz would like to thank the legendary and indefatigable R’ Menashe Miller for his support and help in making it happen. Keren Hakayitz also salutes Sergeant Work, Mr. Phil Rue, and the amazing team at Blue Claws Stadium with Mr. Steve Farago at their helm, for all their assistance. They have all been unbelievably helpful and supportive all along.

Keren Hakayitz is depending on this fundraiser to enable Lakewood’s children to go to camp this summer. It is really up to all of us. Let us welcome the fresh-faced and eager young bikers when they knock on our doors in the coming weeks with a smile and a generous donation. Let us open our hearts and our wallets to the children of our town, enabling them and their parents to breathe a sigh of relief this summer and enjoy what children their age should be enjoying. Let us respond warmly and generously to the boys who come collecting, knowing that our support is making a world of a difference to a child in need.

And boys, get ready, get set. Grease those bike chains, prepare your helmets, get in shape and get in gear. The Keren Hakayitz Bike-a-Thon is counting on you!