Camp Happy Days is expanding its reach across South Carolina as the nonprofit works to meet a growing need among children with cancer and their families.
The organization, which provides its programs at no cost to families, currently serves more than 1,000 families statewide through summer camp, teen and family weekends, financial assistance, hospital programs and other year-round services, according to Mikaela Nichols, vice president of advancement for Camp Happy Days.
This summer, Camp Happy Days welcomed 200 campers for its weeklong summer camp, the organization’s flagship program. It is also expanding programming into Columbia, Greenville and Myrtle Beach and working to increase its in-hospital programming to reach families during treatment.
In early October, Camp Happy Days will launch Building Youth Leadership and Direction, a new program for older campers focused on confidence, leadership and life skills.
The expansion comes as more than 200 children are diagnosed with cancer in South Carolina each year, Nichols said. For those children, a diagnosis can reshape life for the entire family.
“I wish more people understood that childhood cancer does not just affect the child. It affects the entire family,” Nichols said. “Siblings miss out on normal childhood experiences; parents put careers on hold, and financial hardship is incredibly common.”
Those challenges can continue even after a child finishes treatment.
“Families often feel isolated because the world moves on but their journey continues,” Nichols said. “What Camp Happy Days provides is a community where no one has to explain what they are going through because everyone in the room already understands.”
Nichols recalled a father who shared how cancer changed his once-outgoing, sports-loving son. During his cancer journey, the boy became more introverted, struggled with anxiety and pulled away from friendships. His father said that although his son survived, he felt as though he had lost part of the child he knew along the way.
That began to change when the family became involved with Camp Happy Days.
“For the first time since diagnosis he felt like he had his child back,” Nichols said.
Creating those opportunities for families, however, has become more expensive. Nichols said the cost of summer camp alone increased by more than 30% this year as Camp Happy Days continues expanding its programs and statewide reach. Financial assistance also remains one of the organization’s most critical offerings as families cope with medical debt and other expenses associated with a childhood cancer diagnosis.
Because all programs are free to participating families, Camp Happy Days relies on donations and community support. Monthly giving, event sponsorships and planned gifts are among the ways supporters can help. Its Holiday Giving Program allows donors to purchase Christmas gifts for families in need, while volunteers are needed for programs and events throughout the year.
The organization’s annual gala is scheduled for Feb. 20 at Festival Hall in Charleston.
For Nichols, Camp Happy Days’ mission is about helping children and families recover parts of their lives that cancer can take from them.
“Surviving cancer is not the finish line,” she said. “These families need a community that understands what they have been through and a safe place to find joy, friendship and themselves again.”
