Duke taking on UNC in one more way

[DukeFencer]

Camp Kesem North Carolina is a joint Duke-UNC student group that runs free summer camps for 200+ kids each summer. The catch? All of the kids have parents who have or have had cancer. The students raise money, recruit student volunteers and volunteer professional staff, and do all the planning themselves to give kids a week where they can feel "normal" and be around kids who know what they're going through, and give parents a chance to have some time to themselves.

Last year, Duke took on UNC in the first ever Duke/Carolina Alumni Challenge to raise money for Camp Kesem North Carolina. Combined, they raised $8,000, with Duke winning the prize for most raised. Duke is again taking on UNC and the challenge will end this Saturday, the day of the Carolina game.

In addition to the funds raise, this was exciting also because it was the biggest example of Kesem alumni giving nationwide. The national organization encouraged other chapters to try this model, but Camp Kesem-Washington vs Camp Kesem-Oregon just doesn’t have the same appeal. To make it even more interesting, Camp Kesem North Carolina is the ONLY joint Kesem chapter in the country. Students alternate having meetings at each campus, and I still remember our first board meeting after Tyler Hansbrough got hit in the face by Gerald Henderson - total chaos with grown adults fighting across the table about whether or not it was on purpose. Yep, there's nothing like Duke-UNC!

I know there are many of you out there who will feel connected to this cause. For anyone with a parent who has/had cancer, feels that cancer sucks, or just want to beat UNC, please check out the following link and consider making even a small donation like $10.

https://campkesem.givebig.org/c/CK13...l/p/dukealumni

Please note that this link is specific to Duke fans and will get your dollars counted in the "Duke" category, but all funds will go towards helping bring magic to families coping with cancer. To learn more, check out www.campkesem.org

Thanks to all!

[DukeFencer]

Update: Duke is KICKING BUTT in the Challenge. After beating UNC by $700 last year, they are currently in the lead by $1500. Over $8,000 has been raised, with Duke raising close to $5,000 of that. We're just a couple thousand away from our goal of $12,000. Thank you all for viewing my initial post. If you're interested in donating, link is again below, and GO DUKE!

ckncchallenge.com/duke