SOUTH HERO, Vt.- On Father’s Day, dads checked out vintage cars, while giving back to a unique camp filled with inspiring stories. Mustangs, Trans Ams, and the like littered Camp Ta Kum Ta’s parking lot.
“All the money raised goes towards helping with programs, activities, food, their medication while they’re here because we give everything from band-aids to chemotherapy,” says Camp Ta Kum Ta Executive Director Hattie Johnson.
The North Country Mustang Club based in Champlain, New York drove in antique cars from the Empire and Green Mountain states. Donald Perras and his nephew Jordan Moore, a former camper and cancer survivor, brought two cars.
“I think it’s a great cause and it’s great for the kids because it really does help them,” says Perras.
16-year-old Jordan Moore is in remission from Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. He is one example of why Johnson says this camp of hope can heal.
“Along our 31 year journey, we’ve lost a lot of kids, but as you walk around our facility and if you ever see camp in action, it’s a place that’s full of smiles,” says Johnson.
The year round camp has anywhere from 75 to 85 campers annually. It’s run by 115 volunteers, many of whom are former campers.
“They knew the same thing I was going through, so we could talk about it,” says Jordan Moore.
Because it does not receive any federal, or state funding, this nonprofit depends solely on donations and fundraisers to keep it doors open to children with unimaginable strength.
“This is an opportunity for them to check their cancer at the gate and come on to our facility and just be a kid again,” says Johnson.
Johnson says Camp Ta Kum Ta budgets about $800,000 a year to run the facility. Summer camp begins at the end of July.