By CHRIS FOX
fox.chris@dailygleaner.com
The Daily Gleaner
Matt Sheriko has finished his first year of classes at St. Thomas University, but that doesn’t mean he’s too old to go to camp.
Sheriko, a Wolfville, N.S., native, will head to Prince Edward Island next month to hang out with an expected 180 kids at Camp Triumph – a week-long summer camp for kids with ill or disabled family members.
The camp, in operation since 2005, is organized by Matt, his older brother Jordan and their mother Kathi. It will expand from one camp to three this year.
“These kids need a break and need time away, and that’s what Camp Triumph is all about,” said Sheriko, this year’s head councillor. “They come here and then they know they are not alone and they get to meet all kinds of other campers who are going through the same thing.”
Camp Triumph is the only regional camp for children with ill family members, according to Sheriko. It was created by Jordan after his mother successfully fought off breast cancer when he and Matt were kids. Their father Tom passed away last August after an 18-year battle with a brain tumor.
“This is so close to my heart because I know what these kids are going through,” said Matt Sheriko. “It is really rewarding because they come here and they are timid, but you know deep down that they really do want to talk, and because most of the councillors here can relate to the kids, they eventually open up.”
Kathi Sheriko, director of the camp, said it’s important to her and her sons to give an often-neglected group a fun week of summer camp activities for free.
“There was lots of opportunities for support for kids with illnesses, but there was nothing that addressed the needs of those kids with family members with illnesses, because when somebody is ill with something serious there is a lot of impact on every single member of the family, and it can be emotional, financial or just logistical,” she said.
Tay Creek’s Mary Beaulieu is planning to send her daughter Janelle to Camp Triumph this summer. She said the camp provides a vital service, one that she never realized the importance of until her daughter Emily was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease.
“Before this happened to me I had no idea what families go through when kids are chronically sick, and this camp is genius because everyone in the family is affected, and this camp really gives those other kids a break,” she said. “It must be such a relief for these kids to go and forget about everything just for a week.”
Matt Sheriko said he would like to see more participation in Camp Triumph by New Brunswickers such as Janelle Beaulieu.
He said kids at the camp usually come from P.E.I., but this year four of the camp’s councillors are coming from New Brunswick, as well as several campers.
“I want to see a mix of kids from all over, and we haven’t tapped into New Brunswick as much as we liked, but I think that is changing as the camp gets more and more exposure,” he said.
There is still space available in Camp Triumph this summer. Anyone interested in enrolling their son or daughter can go to http://www.camptriumph.ca/ or contact Kathi Sheriko at 1-902-886-2141.
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