Camp HOPE Aims to Provide Therapy to Kids Battling Cancer
MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – A local foundation is helping middle Georgia kids face with a camp.
For years, Jay’s HOPE Foundation’s mission has been to improve the quality of life for children with cancer, and their families.
This week, kids got the chance to play kickball, learn how to play music, and even dance all in hopes of getting their mind of the disease.
Cindy Gaskins is the founding director of Jay’s HOPE Foundation. Her son battled cancer and passed away seven years ago.
“Our battle with childhood cancer, we found a purpose in that our purpose is to reach out and to support other families that have childhood cancer and to teach them about real hope,” Gaskins said.
A hope these kids need.
75 kids to be exact. They’re all receiving a different kind of therapy.
They participated in art projects, learned different types of music notes, played sports and even danced.
All of them dealt with cancer themselves, or with a family member. Some have beaten it like Angelica Rios.
Rios, 19, had her own bout with cancer and participated in Jay’s HOPE. She volunteers now because she says it’s the right thing to do
“I feel like it’s important that we help, you know, the kids because they’re kids they don’t really know what’s happening to them, they just know that they’re sick,” Rios said.
Now the future SCAD student has fun and plays kickball with younger kids.
She says optimism and Jay’s HOPE helped her through the tough times and made her a strong person.
“I’m not going to identify myself with this. I’m going to be who I am, and I’m going to beat this thing and I’m going to come out better than I was before,” Rios said.
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To volunteer at Jay’s HOPE visit their website:
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