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The Peace Corps, despite what they tell you, is not the ‘Toughest Job You’ll Ever Love”.  I think Tricia Benson may have that job.  Just the words ‘Pediatric Oncology’ should give anyone pause.  Now imagine that you’ve signed up to wrangle hundreds of kids who are fighting various cancers.  That’s what Trish does.  She is the number two person at Camp Sunshine, a camp for kids with cancer. 
She can do what I cannot.  She can keep her head and a straight face.  She doesn’t crack under the pressure and she makes sure that the kids have a great time.  She lets them be kids and stops them from getting into kid trouble and then can spring into action when they begin to suffer a bad reaction from their medications or worse. Not only does she do this at Camp Twin Lakes but also at Camp Sunshine intown facility (btw, you should volunteer just to get a look at the place.  Frank Lloyd Wright would be proud). 
She’s organized, tough, down to earth, and cheerful.  She makes it work.  This is harder than it sounds.  Yes, there are tons of people to help and Sally Hale (who started the place and helps put on its best face) does a great job of recruiting volunteers and resources, but my impression is that Tricia keeps the place going. 
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Sometimes the kids die.  The cells are stronger than the mind.  I sometimes do programs for Camp Sunshine and recently I had fewer campers in one program than I expected.  The same day I found the memorial list which included campers who had previously participated.  I have no idea what to do with that.  None.  What makes Trish a hero is that she works through that and continues to be very good at what she does.  She’s figured out what to do with all that emotion and turn it into a better experience for the campers. 
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Tricia Rocks because she keeps the programs going, the tea flowing, and helps the kids want to keep going and grow up.  She helps kids facing death want to beat the disease and grow up.  Is there anything else?

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 21st, 2005 at 3:05 am and is filed under Venues and Events. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.