In addition to being PACE’s Operations Manager, Nick Black has dedicated a large portion of his time off allotment each year (to the point of including the standing PTO request in his employment offer) to Seattle Children’s Hospital’s annual Stanley Stamm Camp which allows children that have been impacted by complex medical conditions to enjoy a regular summer camp experience. Located on the base of Mt. Rainer – Hosted by the Sunset Lake Camp, the Stamm Camp is packed with fun activities such as fishing, horseback riding, swimming, music, arts & crafts, science & nature and boating all while accommodating diverse medical conditions.

 

Founded by Seattle Children’s heart specialist Dr.Stanley Stamm over 53 years ago, the camp brings out hundreds of medical and non-medical volunteers every August and is subsidized by fundraising activities & guilds and direct donors so families of attending children never pay a fee. Nick began volunteering 7 years ago, has been a member of the Guild (a fundraising group at Seattle Children’s Hospital) for 6 years and is well on his way to reaching his goal of volunteering for 25+ years.

 

Volunteering at Stanley Stamm Camp is an incredibly rewarding and challenging experience that allows volunteers to foster a fun and safe place for children coping with complex medical issues. Nick says the work is “very hard and demanding, harder than staying at work for a week, definitely more hours. But all of that culminates in one of the purest and truest smiles and bouts of laughter from the kids”. Witnessing important moments and seeing the reaction of the campers is an invaluable experience, Nick says “They aren’t faking it, they aren’t appeasing anyone, they are living life to the fullest without fear of being the odd one out. Hitting the “firsts” milestones – swimtest, riding a horse (especially those who require ventilator support), or just staying away from mom and dad for the first time when they have been your only overnight care giver outside a hospital – are huge achievements that can’t be replaced anywhere else”.

 

When Nick joined the PACE team nearly two years ago, PACE was happy to provide Nick with time off to attend the camp as a volunteer, as well as make a corporate donation to the camp. Nick could not be more grateful for the support from PACE, “Being that it is 100% volunteer based and put on at 100% no charge to the families, it takes contributions from individuals and the community to make it happen. We are going on 50+ years and want that to continue. My company contributing adds to the hope that the camp will never not be there in the future for kids to come”.