By Paul Fitzgerald – The Toronto Tribune
It was a day of smiles, a day of laughter and a day filled with joy.
Most of all it was a day that kids battling cancer didn’t have to think about being sick; it was a day that allowed kids with and affected by childhood cancer to simply be kids.
You see, in late October, Camp Oochigeas (Ooch) in downtown Toronto, ON, hosted a Halloween event for a large number of kids battling cancer. The Halloween Howl attracted scores of Camp Ooch campers and their families. The event had so many highlights: a costume party, pumpkin carving, spook-tacular crafts and a Halloween campfire.
Camp Ooch has experienced huge growth since its inception over 30 years ago. Often referred to as the social cure for cancer, Camp Ooch has expanded programs year-round in Muskoka, at the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), Ooch Downtown and various other cancer centres across Ontario.
A highlight for the over 200 kids at this year’s Halloween Howl included a visit from award winning artists from Chronic Ink Tattoo who shared their talent, time and treasure by offering professional face-painting for the kids.
“It’s a tradition of ours to do face painting every year at Halloween, and this year it was even more special to be able to do it at Camp Ooch. I think our artists were more excited than the kids,” says Ricky Fung, the co-founder and co-owner of Chronic Ink.
Fung recently attended the annual Camp Ooch Open House in Muskoka and saw first-hand the ‘Magic of Ooch’.”
“When I went to Camp Ooch, I was blown away by the activity. I was greatly moved by the tangibility of the cause. At Ooch, you see the smiles on the kids’ faces; you hear their laughter; you see the hugs being shared, you know immediately your contribution is making a real difference,” says Fung. “After I left that afternoon, I couldn’t stop thinking: ‘I can’t tell who is helping who more – the kids or the people who are fortunate to be around them’.”
Paresa Amin, who is the Manager of the In-City Programs at Ooch Downtown, says “Chronic Ink helped make the Halloween Howl extra special for our Campers”.
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“It is always great to see kids laughing and participating in the many activities happening at our annual Camp Ooch Halloween Howl. Face-painting by Ricky and his team of artists from Chronic Ink was certainly a popular station for our campers. They loved it. The team of artists came dressed in costumes showing their Camp spirit, and we are grateful for their contribution to making the day a huge success” says Amin.
For Fung a personal highlight was personally meeting Mark Watkins, whose daughter Sarah passed away in late 2014 from cancer at the age of seven. Sarah was a member of the Ooch community and participated in programs at the Hospital for Sick Children, Ooch Downtown and Ooch Muskoka. During two years of aggressive chemotherapy Sarah continued to find laughter, joy and delight in activities that allowed her the simple pleasure of being a kid. Shortly after Sarah’s passing, Watkins looked for an opportunity to commemorate his daughter and wound up getting a tattoo at Chronic Ink in her memory. On his right upper arm a large tattoo reads the name Sarah.
“It was so touching meeting Mark. Seeing Mark there with our tattoo, knowing we did a good job for him, especially in that setting was a very special moment.” says Fung.
Watkins applauds the volunteer efforts by Fung and his team of professional artists.
“All I can say is a huge thanks to Chronic Ink for helping put smiles on kids’ faces,” says Watkins. “What they did on Halloween was remarkable on every level: they let kids forget about having cancer, they made them smile, and they made them laugh. They let kids with cancer just be kids.”
Watkins is an advocate of Camp Ooch. “When our daughter Sarah was hospitalized, Camp Ooch was there for her and for us from day one to offer support. My wife and I lived at the hospital and their support helped in ways that are unexplainable. Camp Ooch provides happiness; Camp Ooch touches kids’ lives in such a positive way.”
Chronic Ink plans to support Camp Ooch even more in 2016.
“My mother passed away from lung cancer so this is very personal for me,” says Fung. “I think good businesses should be extensions of our beliefs so we’re going to do a lot more work with Camp Ooch. You’re going to see their presence integrated into our physical space, our digital messaging, and most importantly, we want this compassion to be the foundation of the culture.”