Two weeks ago, I broke my wrist in a bike accident. Don’t feel bad for me. It’s in a cast and it will heal. The injury has reminded me of how blessed I am and will be after I recover, to do and enjoy the amazing things that life and nature have to offer.

However, I am disappointed because I have been training for months to do my first Ironman in Whistler, Canada in July and dedicate that effort to raise US$25,000 for the non-profit I care passionately about, and on whose board I serve: The Louis August Jonas Foundation (LAJF).  The Foundation runs Camp Rising Sun, an international scholarship camp for teens. The camp brings together 120 students from about 30 countries around the world to develop a lifelong commitment to compassionate and lifelong leadership. Currently, LAJF is looking to raise $750,000 to meet our financial targets. When I attended this camp 40 years ago, the experience was transformative as I learned how to work together and play in this multi-cultural setting and discovered a world outside of Chinatown, NYC where I grew up. My family would not have afforded this experience for me if not for the scholarship. I left home (and the U.S.) soon thereafter and this camp shaped the person that I have become and continues to inform me today on understanding our common humanity and the importance of cultural diversity. Please check out our website www.lajf.org to learn more.

While I cannot do the Ironman triathlon, I will do a charity 8-mile run on July 21 for LAJF.  I am doing nothing extraordinary but humbly ask that you consider sponsoring me. I feel privileged to advance the mission with this fund-raising event. I’d love to catch up and thank you for your support, at any level.

The boys and girls who will attend the summer programs thank you too!

Tim

P.S. In this photo from the summer of 1979 at camp, I am in the second row, the seventh from the right. Haha!

For 59 years, from 1930 through 1988, Camp Rising Sun was an incredible opportunity only available for boys. A confluence of factors contributed to the creation of a Camp Rising Sun program for girls. At the October 1986 board meeting, the decision was made to seek out a separate campus nearby and an ad-hoc committee was created (and named/dubbed?) “Girls Camp Committee” chaired by Michael Engber. At the December, 1986 Alumni Reunion, Michael Engber and Marshall Beil stood before the Rising Sun community and announced the purchase of the site in Clinton. There was cheering and support. In late 1988, the site was coming together, selection and recruitment for campers and staff had begun and the vision for a girls program was becoming a reality. In June, staff arrived early to begin prep, but the Clinton campus was not yet ready. 

In 1989, Rising Sun welcomed at the Clinton campus 40 girls and 15 staff members. As the bus arrived, the staff sang “Camp Henry Welcomes You,” a tradition adopted way back in the 1930 season of Rising Sun. This left some of the arriving girls wonderinged if the bus had pulled into the wrong Camp. It was not until 1990 that our now familiar “Pine trees are swaying” song was established. The core structure of the Rising Sun program model supported them through that first summer. Girls were working on projects, leading engaging instructions, hiking in the Catskill mountains and enjoying singing traditional camp songs. The arts cabin was developed into a good creative space. The tents which had just been numbered were given names and signs painted for each. Campers pulled weeds out of the pond to make it swimmable. Lots of projects involved painting and reorganizing the existing spaces to be more suitable for camp activities.

The following year, returning campers transformed customs from 1989 into enduring traditions. Each year, building upon the last, has yielded the Camp Rising Sun we know and love today. The program has been influenced by each and every camper, counselor and director, yet it is remarkably the same Camp Rising Sun Freddie birthed in 1930. Please make a donation in honor of the efforts to create a Camp Rising Sun for girls and all of young people who attended. Your donation will be matched dollar for dollar by Rick and Nita Luis.