by Nicole Brown

More than 200 disabled or disadvantaged children took part in dunking their counselors, painting their faces, running through the spray of water from a fire truck’s hose and indulging on ice cream during Sunshine Day at Cradle Beach Camp. This August will mark the 15th year Evans Township Lions in New York have held the daylong event.

Cradle Beach Camp has been in existence since 1888, serving the needs of disabled and disadvantaged children from Western New York. Situated on 66 acres along the shore of Lake Erie in Angola, Cradle Beach provides a fun camping experience while teaching campers decision-making skills, conflict resolution tactics and building self-esteem. Children go to camp for 10 days and take part in programs focused upon the 40 Developmental Assets as recognized by the Search Institute.

Cradle Beach Camp serves approximately 900 disabled and disadvantaged children between the ages of 9 and 16 each summer. Among the types of handicaps and disorders that affect the children are asthma/allergy, autism, cerebral palsy, cystic fibrosis, Down Syndrome, heart defects, hyperactivity, seizures, spina bifida, visual defects and deafness. Between 40 and 50 autistic campers benefit from the summer camping experience every year since the beginning of the autism program in 2000. Referrals for the camp come from dozens of social service and health agencies, physicians and schools.

During Sunshine Day, Evans Township Lions provide snacks and host numerous activities for a day of fun in the sun. Other highlights of the day include a reptile show and more than a dozen carnival games. Lions award certificates with three or five stars for the number of points earned on the games. Each year, Lions hand out 175-200 certificates, which the children show off to their friends and counselors.

The Lions provided snacks and dinner for the day, which included numerous ice cream bars, six pounds of popcorn, 40 gallons of soda, 75 pounds of hot dogs, 25 dozen ears of corn, 12 watermelons and 600 chocolate chip cookies.

Lions took pictures of the day and presented them to the children. “It was truly a thrill to see all the smiling faces and the joy of brightening the camper’s day when the Lions presented over 120 photographs of the event to them,” said Lion Jim Martin. Campers were also presented with a Lions “Past Journeys for Sight” project t-shirt.

“It was a beautiful day and your organization was wonderful to work with. The food booths, as always, were a hit!,” said Bonnie A. Brusek, Director of Youth Service. “Our campers and staff alike will cherish the pictures that your organization dropped off the following day. As always your organization went above and beyond for our campers. Your group worked together so well to create a magical Sunshine Day providing fond memories for our campers.” 

In addition to the annual Sunshine Day, Lions provide year-round support and funding for the camp, holding numerous fundraisers and assisting the camp in fulfilling their Wish List of needed items.

When the camp created the Walk of Fame, a special patio and walkway with the names of supporters of the camp engraved in brick, the Evans Township Lions Club was among the first to purchase a paver. The club bought one of the larger pavers with their name and logo on it, and their engraved brick was one of the examples used on the Walk of Fame brochure. Fifteen other Lions clubs throughout New York have also purchased bricks for the walkway.

In 2004, Cradle Beach came up with a unique idea to build a handicap accessible tree house. The first of its kind in New York, the tree house cost over $100,000 and consists of six wheelchair ramps of 181 feet. Eleven feet off the ground, seven trees act as anchors for the 650-foot tree house that took over 500 volunteer hours to construct. Lions donated $500 and worked with a local bank to secure a matching donation toward the tree house, which provides a grand view of Lake Erie and the surrounding woods. The tree house made its debut in September 2005.

Through events like Sunshine Day and continual donations to the camp, Evans Township Lions ensure campers can have not only a day of fun in the sun, but a whole summer of fun and learning.