Harley Braun - Senior Project

Dec.14th - Dec.18th

LAST BLOG ENTRY:

This week was very successful. Although I had hoped to complete my first draft by now, I am very confident that I will have my research paper complete by January 4th (the Monday we get back from break). I am still getting information from the book, "Cancer and the Family Life Cycle" and it is helping me out so much. This week I focused on getting my other sources and now I have about 5 sources documented, from the internet and from research books. I need 3 more sources which I will be looking for over break. There were some more internet sites that seemed interesting but I wanted to make sure that my sources were all very helpful to my specific topic. Right now I am working on finishing my rough draft. I will be emailing my mentor my progress throughout the break so that I can have some feedback. I will also have my older brother edit my draft so I can have a final copy by the time break ends (January 4th). I hope to be completely done with the essay by then so that I can focus on siting my sources properly when I get back to school. This paper has been extremely hard for me to write because the topic I chose (how a cancer diagnoses impacts the entire family) is so emotional and heartbreaking to read/write about.

    Volunteering at Camp Sunshine really changed my life, and I am so glad to have had this opportunity to support them and raise awareness/money to this amazing place. I plan on volunteering there again in February and will continue to find ways to give back and help Camp Sunshine provide their services. It is so important to realize how much of a difference places, like Camp Sunshine make on families who are struggling. Families who are watching a loved one fight for his/her life need hope, and places like Camp Sunshine do not only give families an unforgettable experience, but also the opportunity to rebuild relationships, find support in such a welcoming community. Spending time at Camp Sunshine, researching my project topic, and planning/organizing a carnival fundraising event has taught me so much and I am really happy to have chosen this as my senior project.

After break is over, I will have my final paper complete and ready. Though this topic has been really sad for me to read about, I know that this information will give me a much better understanding as I continue to work with families in places like Camp Sunshine in the future. This senior project has been a great experience for me and I am really happy with what I have accomplished :).

Dec.7th - Dec.11th

Planning my research paper and finding sources:

    This week I continued to plan out my research paper. I ordered the book, Cancer and the Family Life Cycle, by Theresa A. Veach, Donald R. Nichols, and Marcie A. Barton. Though I just received it today, from what I have read so far it seems really interesting, but also sad. I know it will help me with the paper though so I have been highlighting information and making many notes. The paper is taking much longer than I thought because I want to collect as much information on the subject as I possibly can. Unfortunately, I have not found information I am looking for on websites. There is one website (cancer.net) which has helped me, but I need to keep researching and find more sources to develop my outline. The book, however, is very insightful and has SO much information on the different stages of cancer and the emotional/physical affects families go through. I am very excited to begin my paper and hopefully by Monday I will have enough notes and sources to begin this paper. I am planning on having a rough copy next week and my final copy done by the time we get back from break! This weekend I will be reading more in this book finding other sources, and complete detailed documents of notes and outlines to begin this paper!

Nov.30th - Dec.4th

Thank-you letters and 10-Page Research Paper: 

Over vacation I wrote up thank you letters, one to give to those who donated $ to this organization, and another to those who donated items for my event to help raise money for this organization. Someone from Camp Sunshine will be sending their own thank you letters to those who donated $ for their tax records, and I have created and attached an in-kind donation form for those who donated the items. I just finished sending the last few out and now I am ready to continue working on my research paper! My paper will focus on the impact a cancer diagnoses, particularly childhood cancer, has on the entire family. Throughout different stages of cancer, the family dynamics change significantly. All individuals react differently depending on the situation and other factors as well, however, when a child is fighting for their lives every day, the entire family is fighting right along with him/her. The families I have been fortunate enough to meet and spend time with at camp sunshine have taught me so much that I will never forget. I think it is so important to understand how any terminal illness diagnoses changes each individual in a family. After having so many conversations with different patients, their siblings and parents, I think that it is so important to give each member of the family love and support. I am really happy with the focus of this paper because it is something I have always been interested in, especially after my experiences at camp sunshine. I have been making notes all week and I am finishing up my final outline this weekend. I hope to have a rough draft of the paper a week from today. I also need to get more sources from books and other websites. I think I will learn a lot more by doing this paper so I am really looking forward to it!

Camp Sunshine Carnival!!

The carnival was great!! Everything was set up on time, the volunteers were all SOOO helpful, and I could see that the children and their families really enjoyed themselves! I woke up early that morning to set up and had no problems getting everything organized. Everything was loaded in the car the night before so when I got there me and my mom took it all out and set up the different activities/booths. Mr. Drossel came to help out which was so great because we really needed it! The volunteers arrived exactly on time and I was so happy to have all of their support. They made signs and helped decorate the room more for me and I really don't know what I would have done without them. Hampton Coffee's mobile unit came right on time and by 1:00pm cars started to pull up! I am so happy with the way everything turned out.. the only thing that became an issue was the non-stop pouring rain and the "hurricane" weather that had been going on all day. I regret not posting on the flier that this was an INDOOR carnival because I do think that I would have raised more money (especially on the t-shirts) if more families had come. But it turned out that families still noticed the carnival signs and came anyway!

Every time I looked around the room, I could see the children playing games and doing activities with the volunteers, trying SO hard to win one of the big stuffed animal prizes. Watching everyone (kids, parents, and volunteers) having fun and just spending time together was so nice to see and was exactly what I hoped for. The highlight of my day was seeing the Hernandez family pull into the Ross Lower School!! I met the Hernandez family my first time volunteering at Camp Sunshine and have kept in touch with them since. Evelin, William, Claudia, and their grandma have made a huge difference in my life and I feel so lucky to know such an amazing family. They live in Harlem, which would be at least a 6 hour drive to Bridgehampton and back. I can't believe that they came despite the horrific weather, but I know how much Camp Sunshine means to them and they would do anything to support this organization. I almost cried when I saw them because its been so long but the minute we started talking I felt as if we never spent time apart. Having the Hernandez's spend the day with me was the best feeling ever and reminded me why it is that I put all of my effort into this organization. Camp Sunshine has changed their lives and my goal is to help Camp Sunshine provide services for more families to have this unforgettable experience.

My mom has helped me out tremendously and I don't know how I would've planned and organized all of this without her. She is really the best and working with her right by my side has made this process so exciting and memorable for me. I am also so lucky to have Marty Cooper as my mentor, who supported me and has given me the best advice! The volunteers are the next people I would like to thank because they made this carnival happen! I don't know what I would do without the support from family, friends, teachers, and local businesses..

It was clear that each person who was there really wanted to be there and help out in any way. Even in the pouring rain, volunteers, teachers, and family friends came to support Camp Sunshine and that meant so much to me. Everyone who came brought so much energy and excitement to the room which made a huge difference. The volunteers made all of the children so happy and made this carnival so much fun.I truly appreciate everyone who was there because I know that waking up on a rainy, saturday morning isn't easy.. and seeing all of the support I had made me so happy and everything worthwhile.

The day was so successful and because of everyone's generosity and donations, I have raised around $9,000 (and still receiving more donations!) - which means Camp Sunshine can now provide their services for at least six different families!!!!! I am so happy and can't think of a better way to have spent my time. I will continue to keep raising money for Camp Sunshine and spending time there whenever I can because I know how this organization truly makes a difference!

Camp Sunshine | Members

http://www.campsunshine.org/familysponsorship/members/member.php?mem_id=494

PICTURES FROM CAMP SUNSHINE CARNIVAL @ ROSS!

http://sunshine2009.shutterfly.com

 

^ Me and the Hernandez family!! (met them my first session at Camp Sunshine) They drove 3 hours in the pouring rain to come see me and it made my day :-)

Nov. 9th - Nov. 13th

WEEK BEFORE CARNIVAL!!

    This whole week has been filled with non-stop work for the carnival.. and although I am SOOO excited for saturday, I am at the point where everything has been getting very stressful to deal with by myself and I think once saturday comes i will be so relieved!!

My schedule for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and TODAY- have been split between two different assignments (my senior project and my college essays). I have been so overwhelmed by both because they are both supposed to be done on SATURDAY-the same day! But I am happy to say I have gotten through both and now it is the night before my carnival and I am so happy that the day is almost here! I just found out that one of the families I met at Camp Sunshine over the summer are definitely coming!! I can't wait to see them since its been 3 MONTHS. I am really looking forward to tomorrow and I know that everything is going to fall into place when i'm there. I've been worrying about not having enough volunteers and the weather (which is going to be horrible..of course) but I realized that it will all work out and still be so much fun no matter what. I will write more later about how everything went, but for now I am just so happy to be ready for the carnival day to come! There has been so much support for everyone (local businesses, local newspapers, family, friends, everyone) and I am so thankful for all of the help and encouragement.

Also, the other day I stopped into Calypso and told her about the Carnival I am doing "for Camp Sunshine" and she told me "oh yeah I read something about that camp today". That is what really made my day because my real purpose for this project is to spread awareness about the camp and the more people who read and learn about this place-the better!! It makes me feel that all of this work I put in to this project was worth it because everyone should know about Camp Sunshine, and continue to talk to others about it!

Nov. 2nd - Nov. 6th

Best weekend ever! Went to camp sunshine for Hematology/Oncology week and I didn't think any session would compare to the time I had over the summer, but this past one was amazing! I met the greatest children and most interesting families. I loved every minute of it and I wish I didn't have to leave :( I am keeping in touch with one family in particular and they are trying their best to come to the carnival! Also, two other families from the session over the summer are trying to work it out so they can come support this organization as well. I love this place and I am already excited about going back for Oncology session during february break! Anyway to give you an update on this busyyyyy week.....

Ross School Student Plans Carnival For Charity - East Hampton, NY - Hamptons.com

Camp Sunshine Carnival at Ross School :: DansHamptons.com Calendar

Hamptons.com - Calendar - Camp Sunshine Carnival At Ross

Week 6:

Monday - I focused on a few different things today. Since I was so busy at Camp Sunshine this past weekend, I haven't had any time to do anyyyy of my work. I got back home really late last night so today I caught up with all my school work, started my common app essays, and followed up with a few different people that said they were willing to donate / help publicize the event. I found that it's so important to follow-up because people get so caught up with work, and without reminding them about the donations, they will most likely forget and not get back in touch. Anyway, I was SO excited to wake up this morning and see that an article about my carnival fundraising event is in the Sag Harbor Express :-). My goal this week is to publicize this event as much as possible - it is less than two weeks away!!!

Tuesday - My flyers are now put up in Sag Harbor: Simon Harrison, Provisions, Style Bar, Xavier, Bagel Buoy, Flying Point, and Bookhampton. East Hampton: Rugby, Lulu Lemon, Party Shoppe and Starbucks. I will continue to go around but I am happy that the community was so supportive of displaying my fliers. I will be going to the PA board meeting tomorrow. Also, I got my contract from Nycarnival and I will be reviewing it tonight to make sure I understand what is happening with the inflatable jumping castle. I got approval to have the castle set up inside of the field house! It will be in the center of the room to occupy the most height, which changes the floor plan, but I think this will make the carnival much more entertaining!

Wednesday - PA board meeting was this morning at the Lower School. I actually thought it was really interesting to hear how involved the parents are and what they are looking forward to do for the Ross School community. I have been keeping in touch with Elka Rifkin and she suggested that I come and present my carnival at the meeting. After I explained what Camp Sunshine is and why I want to raise money and awareness for the organization, I went on to talk about my carnival fundraising event. I hope they liked my idea because it is really up to the parents to get their kids involved and come to the carnival. I thought the meeting went really well and when I got back to school, I had time to go and get my fliers approved for posting them around Ross. I put them up and then went to a meeting with Sy Abramowitz. We discussed details for my event and what I will be needing. There will be a portable projector, a 5x5 screen, a microphone, and speakers to plug background music into. I will use the screen for my slideshow of pictures and that will be running throughout the event. I also figured out my set up / breakdown plan for the event. I will be at the lower school from 10:00am - 5:00pm on saturday, hopefully this will be enough time. My custom t-shirts came tonight! It is a bright red t-shirt with a yellow sun in the front center, underneath that it says "Camp Sunshine - Programs for children with life-threatening illnesses"(in black), and on the back it says "Carnival @ Ross!"(in black). I really like the way it turned out!!!

Thursday - At the PA meeting on Wednesday, I had a long conversation with Abigail Gallaher, a very nice women who helped put together the Harvest Festival a few weeks ago on the upper campus. She and I discussed details and different ideas that she found useful for her event. She mentioned to definitely go to "Star Track", in Farmingdale, to buy my prizes. She knows exactly what I am going through since she was basically in the same place as I was a few weeks ago. Anyway, I left school early today to look in "Star Track" and found the greatest prizes that I can make profits off of!! I got a lot done there and I'm happy she told me about it. She also gave me a lot of other great ideas and info and I am continuing to keep in touch with her because this has helped me out so much. 

ONE WEEK LEFT!!

PICTURES FROM OCTOBER 29TH - NOVEMBER 1ST !

Went to Camp Sunshine for the weekend for Hematology/Oncology session.. it was so great! Between me and the camp photographer I have over 400 pictures just from this weekend :-) click the link below and go to album "Oct. 29th-Nov.1st".

http://sunshine2009.shutterfly.com/

Miss it already.

Oct. 19th - Oct. 23rd

New England Cable News (NECN) recently featured Camp Sunshine as their "Cover Story":

Camp Sunshine helps children, families battling cancer | NECN 

Week 5:

Monday - Updated my process folio today.. added more detailed information about each booth/table and which volunteers will be at each one. I also recorded all of the donations I have received so far. I printed out more business letters and put them into envelopes. I emailed Ashley Riley to see what donation form I should be giving to the businesses because this is a 501(c)(3) organization with a tax exempt. Tomorrow I will finish going around to East Hampton since there were a few places I didn't have time to talk to today.

Tuesday - This morning I received an email from Ashley Riley with the tax exempt number for Camp Sunshine. Once I got this, I immediately wrote up a donation form! I think it came out really well and I emailed it to calypso for them to fill out and send back :) After School I stopped at the Farm Stand on Millstone and talked to the manager. I gave her a business letter, explained my event and goals and what Camp Sunshine was. I was specifically hoping for them to donate apples(for chocolate/candy covered apples) and hay(for decoration). They said they could definitely donate as much straw as I need for the event, but they get their apples from the Milk Pail-so I would need to go there to get apples. I was happy with this news anyway because I think that hay would look so great at the carnival! I also stopped at a few other stores in East Hampton (Rugby, Ricky's, J.Crew, and Tiffany's)-hope to hear from them soon!!

Wednesday - I was very overwhelmed with everything today. I was too stressed and anxious to stay in school all day so I left early to try and organize myself. Thankfully, my mom was home and was ready to help me with whatever I needed. I don't know what I would do without her because planning all of these details for the event in such a short period of time is VERY difficult on top of all the other work, studying for ACTs, and filling out college applications! It hasn't been easy, but my mom has really been helping me out a lot through this. I got a lot done the rest of the day..while my mom contacted a few different carnival companies to rent inflatable jumping games, I contacted the East Hampton Star, Southampton Press, hamptons.com, 27East, and Sag Harbor Express. I emailed them all of the information about the benefit and cause, hopefully they will help me publicize this event. Before I went to sleep, I called Claudia Hernandez (one of the kids I met at camp sunshine) to see how she and the family were doing. She told me everything was going well and very quietly she added that she might have a job in a PAM commercial!!! She is very modest but I was sooooo happy and excited for her! She's an amazing actress/singer/model everything and I am so positive she will get this job and be famous! Her brother, William is still doing football and is loving it. I get nervous to hear this because it is very intense, especially the way she described it to me. But I promised I would come and watch one of his games very soon! Anyway, the Hernandez family might be at the carnival-I told Claudia to check with her mom and call me back.. I hope they can make it, I LOVE that family.

Thursday - After school, I drove to Bridgehampton Commons and stopped at a few different places there to hand out my business letter. The manager at the Toy Store there was so enthusiastic about this and is definitely going to set aside a few prizes/items for games and raffle. I will come by next week to pick it up-SO happy!! Also, the Camp Sunshine T-shirts that I have designed look so great! I am going to be selling bright red t-shirts and the front center will have one of the Camp Sunshine logos (a sun in yellow with the words "Camp Sunshine Programs for Children with Life-Threatening Illnesses" in black underneath) On the back of the shirt it will say "Carnival @ Ross" in 11" black letters. Michael Lehmann has given me a great discount for these shirts as a donation and I really appreciate this!! It is in the middle of being made and I know it will look so great!! Shelly Greenbaum had set this up for me and I think this was a really great idea!

Friday - I stopped by at the lower school today to look at the game booths that were stored from the Harvest Festival. I was hoping I could take them home with me to see what I needed for the games, however, once I looked at how huge each booth was, I knew I wasn't going to be carrying any of it with me. I could barely pick it up so I decided it was best to just leave it and deal with moving the booths the day before the carnival. I am so grateful that I can use those games though and I think it will really look great set up in the field house!!

* On wednesday I am going to Camp Sunshine for hematology/oncology week! Can't wait to be back there again, I really miss it. The kids are going to love my costume :-)

(That's me in the costume)^

Oct. 12th - 16th

Week 4:

Just as last week, this week has been so busy! My event is in one month and I have sooo much I still need to accomplished.

Monday - No school [columbus day], went to visit colleges upstate. Didn't have time to do much with the senior project today, however yesterday I stopped by at the Harvest Festival at Ross School. It was so busy there but definitely seemed like fun! Deidre Jowers and Kim Hovey, who are both in charge of the games and activities that took place at the festival, have generously decided to donate their booths for my carnival event! I was so excited to hear this news and I really have to thank Chris Engel, who had the great idea to get in contact with these two. The booths looked perfect and I am really looking forward to setting up inside the field house!!

Tuesday - After school, I went to Amazing Parties, in Southampton, to see how much it would cost to rent one or two of their inflatable games (that were at the Harvest Festival). Unfortunately, I don't think i'll be able to provide the amount they gave me..so I will continue to look into other companies and try to find a lower price. I also stopped at the Lower School Field House again. The doors were open so I was able to look around inside and see the space I have. I was hoping to talk with the head of the school about possibly making an announcement to the school about my project, since my main audience will be the children. It was too late though and no one was around. I'm going to try and come back straight from school later this week.

Wednesday - Today I focused on re-doing my business letter. My advisor had given me really great advice for my fundraiser and pointed out some flaws in my letter. It was unclear exactly what donations I was asking for and my purpose of the letter. I changed a lot of it and I am really happy with the way it sounds now. When I got home I went on to OrientalTrading.com to figure out what prizes/arts and crafts projects I should order. I will definitely use this website because the prices are really great and they have so much I could use! I am making a list of everything I want and the quantity / price. I will record all of this once I order it.

Thursday - Took the day off from school to focus on my senior project. I needed this day because I've been so busy with college applications, the project, and school work. My event is in LESS THAN ONE MONTH.. and I still have so much to do!! So I took the day to begin my advertising. First I made a ton of copies of my flyers and business letters. I took the Camp Sunshine pamphlets(with attached info about my event) and my business letter and put one of each in an envelope. I gave this out to different stores in Sag Harbor. I also stopped by Dan's Paper and gave them my information to put in the calender! I really needed this day to start spreading the word about my event. Everything has been getting overwhelmed so i'm glad I got a lot done today, hopefully i'll be getting emails from these companies soon!

Friday - Got an email from Calypso today! They would like to donate an item for my raffle!! I'm happy to be ending the week on this note.. this weekend I will continue to hand out more business letters. My goal for tomorrow is to go around East Hampton with the flyers and business letters.