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Camp is underway and going fabulously! Great staff, great families, great fun. Pictures and program updates will be posted soon. In the meantime, if you are or know of a family that might benefit from Dream Day services, please send them our way! We have a very active waiting list and continually reach out to families through out the summer.

To that end, volunteers are accepted on a rolling basis too! Fill out an application and send it our way soon.

And for you golfers out there, don’t forget about our upcoming Dream Day Open Scramble Golf Tournament Monday, July 26th at Ocean Edge! Get your foursome ready now — it is a GREAT day on the links!

What A Ride!

Tour da Cape riders biked nearly 100 miles in a chilly spring rain yesterday, and raised thousands of dollars for Dream Day in the process. We are humbled by their perseverance – and grateful for their generosity. Hopefully the riders are dry and now able to enjoy the weekend of sunshine!  Special thanks to John Hennessey, EACH of the RIDERS and their respective donors. Your  commitment to Dream Day children and families will make a direct impact on families this summer: helping them create loving, lasting memories that transcend illness and struggle.

tour da cape 2010

On June 10, the 6th Annual “Tour da Cape” 100 mile bike ride benefiting Dream Day on Cape Cod, will be joined by Tom Smith, 20, a courageous role model for all the special kids who will have the chance to attend Camp Nan-Ke-Rafe in Brewster this summer.  In the past five years, riders have raised more than $20,000 for the camp. Tom, who was paralyzed following two separate traumatic spinal cord injuries, will ride his wheel chair bicycle from the Bourne service road to Dennis in the final and most challenging leg of the Needham to Dennis bike ride.  Proceeds from this ride go directly to the camp which has opened its cabin doors at no cost to hundreds of deserving families over the years.  
With his can-do attitude, Tom is the ideal role model for the seriously ill children and their families who attend the Dream Day camp Nan-Ke-Rafe.  The camp’s mission is to provide a respite from trips to the hospital, doctor visits, chemotherapy treatments, and the other stresses associated with illness.  As he rides his wheelchair bicycle along the Cape roads on June 10, Tom will demonstrate his strength of spirit, and his determination never to quit. 
Tom’s own dream of becoming a professional hockey player was shattered, but he refuses to indulge in self-pity, instead directing his energies to a new mission of advocacy for spinal cord injury patients.   In the hospitals where he received treatment, Tom says he “met the most courageous people whose hopes still shine bright despite being challenged by overwhelming physical disabilities.”  Inspired by their optimism, Tom promised himself “not to whine, not to complain, and not to quit.” 
Tom has kept his promise.  Doctors told him that he would be wheelchair bound following the first hockey accident that sent him headfirst into the boards in August, 2008, seriously damaging his cervical spine. Determined to prove the doctors wrong, Tom spent eight grueling hours each day in therapy, month after month, regaining his strength. His “no whining, no quitting” pledge served him well.  A year later, he returned triumphantly to the hockey rink to play the game he loved most.
However, in October, 2009, during hockey practice, Tom’s skates caught those of a teammate, and Tom hit the right side of his head on the boards, this time injuring his thoracic vertebrae.  Paralysis now confines Tom to a wheelchair, but he feels luckier than most.  He says, “Every day that I go to therapy, I see a person who is worse off than I am.”   He plans to create a foundation that will serve spinal-cord research, awareness and well-being.  In the meantime, he has been a motivational speaker at colleges and universities. 
The 100 mile Tour-da-Cape ride that Tom will join starts in Needham, continues through Westwood, Canton, Bridgewater, Middleboro, Carver, Onset, Bourne, Hyannis, and Yarmouth, and ends in Dennis.  The terrain consists of well paved back roads, with a scenic ride through cranberry bogs, and along the Cape Cod canal, with the most challenging stretch being the hilly terrain encountered after the seventy mile mark.  Upon reaching the finish line, the bikers will gather for a celebratory meal at Oliver’s Restaurant in Yarmouth.       
Cyclists interested in joining this remarkable Dream Day on Cape Cod fundraising event should contact Tour da Cape’s founder, John Hennessey @ jah@nesecurity.com.    Those interested in learning more about or contributing to Dream Day on Cape Cod should visit www.DreamDayonCapeCod.org

-submitted by Board Member JoAnn Phillips

July 8-10, 2010 – A fine Cape Cod tradition, based out of Sesuit Harbor in East Dennis, the Cape Cod Bay Bass and Blue Tournament is quite a weekend!

Applications are now available! See the Tournament page for more information.

 Many upcoming events that  runners can participate in and support Dream Day!

1 – Run for the Hills – May 15th – 10am, Nickerson State Park – sponsored by The Brewster Police Relief Association.

The event is a 3.3-mile run/walk. Registration before May 12 costs $15. Same day registration, starting at 8:30 a.m. is $20. To register call Lt. George Bausch at 508-896-7011, ext. 102 or e-mail bprarun@comcast.net. Parking will be available with a shuttle bus taking riders to the starting line. There are prizes for the top male and female finishers in each age division and there will be post-race food, prizes and a raffle at Camp Nan-Ke-Rafe.

2. 1st Annual Run for a Common Cause – May 23rd, 8am – Mashpee Commons – MLR Racing presents this one-mile fun run at Mashpee Commons.

Click here for a registration form: Run For a Common Cause 

3. Falmouth Road Race – Numbers for Nonprofits – Team Dream Day – August 15, 2010 – we have guaranteed entry numbers for runners committed to raising funds for Dream Day. Call Kathleen at 774 994 7346 for more information!

Camp 2010

We are now accepting family applications for 2010 Camp Nan-Ke-Rafe. Please see Family Application page to download the application.

We are always looking to reach new families! If you know a family who might benefit from our services, please encourage them to apply. Our goal is to bring a ray of sunshine to seriously ill children and their families. A week at Nan-Ke-Rafe is focused on fun, family, and respite: a chance to create loving, lasting memories that transcend pain and illness. This is all of course, at no cost to families.

Summer Staff

We are now hiring camp staff for 2010 – please see Staff Application page for more information!

Board of Directors Paul Hines and Dianne Gilrein present Dyanne and Chris Cooney and CC Construction with the 2009 Volunteer of the Year Award for their ongoing support, donations, and volunteer efforts out at the camp. We are grateful for their help!