Fund donors make happy campers of about 700 youths

Saturday, Sept. 16, 2000 | 10:02 a.m.

Thanks to the generosity of local residents, service organizations, corporations and foundations, the Las Vegas Sun Camp Fund sent 712 youngsters to camp this summer at a cost of $140,000.

Every dollar donated went directly to provide camperships. The Sun picks up all administrative and related costs.

"Since 1970 the Las Vegas Sun Camp Fund has provided thousands of kids an opportunity to get out of their city surroundings and experience camp," Camp Fund Director Charlotte Hill said.

"Even if the kids are away for only four or five days, it makes a difference in their lives. It's a chance they've never had before."

Many of the campers include foster children and those whose families are on welfare. Families applying for camperships must meet income guidelines.

Through the generosity of a major donor this year, the Lillian K. Walker Trust, the Camp Fund hopes to reach more children next summer. The Camp Fund will work to find camping spots for as many children as possible.

The Camp Fund also acknowledged a major contribution by Southwest Medical Associates, which provided 111 free physical examinations for campers, and University Medical Center, which provided 72 free sports physicals.

Youngsters wanting to go to camp must have physicals, yet many families can't afford them.

Through the Sun Camp Fund, youths age 7 to 15 attended camps offered by the following: Las Vegas Boys and Girls Clubs, Henderson Boys and Girls Clubs, Griffith United at Potosi Pines, Desert Southwest Annual Conference at Potosi Pines, the Salvation Army in Las Vegas and Pahrump, the Frontier Girl Scouts, the Boy Scouts-Boulder Dam Area Council and the Boy Scouts Camp at Whitsett, Calif.

The Las Vegas Sun Camp Fund board expressed its heartfelt appreciation to all who contributed to the fund this year for making a difference in children's lives. Some of those donors:

Lonnie E. Barnes; The Yatckos; Richard Craig and Pam Anderson; Robert J. Kolesar Jr.; Richard J. Baba and Karen F. Arcotta; Dr. Bernard Greenblatt; Norman Wilson; IV Word Promotions/Lynda M. French; Lippman Family Trust; and H.F. and Patty S. Balconi.

Arthur P. and Carolyn A. Valerie; Scott A. McLaughlin; Leonora Bialak; W.R. and Barbara Libert "In memory of Chris Libert"; Robert O. Lentz and Sandra K. Rehberg "In memory of Sue J. Lentz"; Murray G. and Sophie M. Coombs; Michael Weiner/Weiner Family Trust; Molly A. Maher; Julia P. Johnson; Lynn and Terry McCarthy.

David and Lisa Diffley; Joyce A. Riser ITF Jacquelyn S. Miller; Barbara L. Hickman; Bennie and Robert J. Asson; Jennifer Woods "In memory of Perry Woods"; Housing Authority of the County of Clark; Marsha and Robert Tarte; Nemorio and Marie Baltazar; John W. and Christina C. Miller; and Annette R. Pipitone.

R. Accetta; Arvie and Charles Bromley; Velva B. Weiss; Donna M. Castricone; Stewart W. Buhai; Henry A. and Beulah J. Johnson; M.F. and Elizabeth Haist; Martin and Suzanne Squires Trust/Carol Squires; Philip Rosenberg; and Heather and Samuel Palmer.

Helen L. Jackson and Lynn D. Lybeck; Helen Mack; C. Palma Breitmayer and Millie Vasta; John J. and Dolores L. Meehan; Betty J. Hartman; William M. and Terri L. Rogers; Terry P. Youmans; Richard M. Kaya; Peter and Alyeen Dragovich; and Bishop Michelina T. Foster.