Islanders can still support Camp Adventure; Raffle tickets, movie to benefit kids with cancer

If you miss Camp Adventure, which operated each August on the grounds of Camp Quinipet before it had to move upstate to continue serving children with cancer and their siblings, there are still ways to keep in touch with the campers and staff by supporting its fundraising efforts.

One of those happens this weekend with a drive-in movie night at Costello’s Ace Hardware in Copiague, where a screening of “Elf” will be offered on Saturday at 9 p.m.

But if COVID-19 has you limited in your travels, you can support the organization through a raffle for a Weber Genesis E-410 grill contributed by Ace Hardware.

Tickets for the raffle are $5 apiece or three for $10 and 10 for $20.

While the winner will be announced Saturday night, you do not have to be present to claim the prize.

To buy raffle tickets and/or reserve a spot for the movie, visitkidsneedmore.org/movie.

Camp Adventure started on the Island in 2000, but in the summer of 2019 relocated to Timber Lake West in Roscoe, N.Y., for several reasons, including; reduce costs of renting the space needed; accommodate a larger number of people — 550 campers and staff upstate as compared with 243 who could attend when the program operated at Quinipet; and some amenities they were unable to have on Shelter Island, including outdoor and indoor concert halls.

When the program started, it was funded by the American Cancer Society. But that organization had to cut back on its support, forcing Camp Adventure leaders to form KidsNeedMoRE as a means of raising money to keep the program going.

Islanders have long supported the program, including helping to house those campers too ill to be able to stay overnight at Quinipet. They have opened their houses and their hearts to the children and, sometimes, their parents as well.

Teams from KidsNeedMoRE have traditionally participated in the Shelter Island 10K and although the program moved off-Island for the summer of 2019, a smaller group returned to the Island last Thanksgiving for their annual celebration of “Campsgiving,” staying at the Ram’s Head Inn.

While the full program was a victim of the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization has continued to sponsor various activities this year and to provide support for families with children undergoing medical challenges.

One major fundraising organization that has supported KidsNeedMoRE is the Paul Robert Cary Foundation, named to honor former Governor Hugh Carey and Helen Owen Cary in memory of their seventh son, Paul R. Carey, who succumbed to cancer when he was 38. The annual Paul R. Carey Memorial Golf Outing at Gardiner’s Bay Country Club has helped KidsNeedMoRE and the foundation has also supported Our Lady of the isle Outreach Program and Fighting Chance in Sag Harbor.

The church’s Outreach Program, funded entirely from contributions, provides confidential assistance to many families and individuals on the Island throughout the year and is totally supported by charitable donations. The program helps pay medical bills, heating and utilities, education, transportation and funeral expenses as well as purchasing food and gift cards throughout the year.