‘Hep cats’ help Sun Camp Fund

Friday, June 7, 2002 | 3:01 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION:June 8, 2002

Donors to the Las Vegas Sun Camp Fund come from all walks of life. Their generosity ranges from $5 from retirees living on Social Security to several thousand dollars from wealthy residents.

The Sun Camp Fund recently received a $50 contribution from some "hep cats" -- literally. The donation was made in the name of "Sylvia, Angelique and Siegfried" -- pet cats. Their "guardian" said the cats "pooled their allowances and wish to make this donation" and she wrote the check.

"I'm kidding about them having an allowance," the guardian added.

The moral of this cat story is that a bit of generosity and humor go a long way toward helping others. In this case, children who deserve but can't afford to go to camp.

Referrals for the Sun Camp Fund come from parents, teachers, counselors, guardians, caseworkers and foster families.

One counselor recently recommended 10 students deserving of a camping experience.

"Our families are hard-working people who struggle daily just to survive," the counselor says. You can help send disadvantaged children to camp by joining these latest contributors to the Sun Camp Fund:

Angie Tripp; Bonnie A. Cain; Beverly McGarrow; Leo and Renee Diamond; Benevolent Patriotic Order of Does; Bishop Michelina T. Foster; Elisabeth T. Anderson; Lisa Menegatos; Ross P. Richards Trust; and Adele Baratz.

Nemorio and Marie Baltazar; William L. White Jr. and Alice Moore-White; Wayne and Dorothy Johnson; Helen V. McLaren; Carol and Robert Rytina; Candy Martin and Michael Rosenthal; John F. and Susan M. Kunkle; Margaret J. Moudary; Charles R. Stewart; and Robert and Deanna Boysen.

Sheree Peterson; Kim Engel-George; Robert and Doris Pogue; Eleanor Tagler Trust; George S. Oya; Thomas J. and Helen Louise Meehan; Grant F. Banks; Marie and F.W. Gehl; Carol Wittig; and James and Cathy Loftfield.