Octoberfest Family Weekend is one of the most highly anticipated events of the year! It's the event that kicks off fall for our Special Love families, and this year was no different. We had 27 families join us for a full weekend of autumn activities for the whole family. Friday evening is our first social time, with families arriving at the 4-H Center in Front Royal, VA, arts and crafts, and our opening ceremony at Campfire. Saturday was a jam-packed day of activity! This year we shook things up and trekked to Wayside Farm Fun in Berryville, VA and everyone [...]

Our annual KOA Day, held at the KOA in Williamsburg, VA, was a huge hit this year! We had a record number of families, 12 families, 58 people total. The amazing people of KOA, who sponsor the day, provided a wonderful lunch for the families and allowed us to take advantage of the activities they bring into the camp site. The morning kicked off with fun crafts, and then everyone headed out for a hiking adventure. After lunch families participated in various family centered activities, took advantage of the heated outdoor pool, the marshmallow bouncers and KOA’s new Frisbee golf [...]

On probably the only crisp fall morning in all of September in Washington DC we welcomed more than 250 people to Canal Park, part of the Capitol Waterfront, for fun and some walking/running. This was a year of firsts for the 5K; the first year the event was not timed, new location AND the introduction of family fun events. Another highlight, we raised over $30,000 for Special Love’s programs.  To all our longtime participants and newcomers, sponsors and partners, THANK YOU! We were thrilled to welcome NBC4 Meteorologist Chuck Bell, as our 5k emcee and participant. A new friend to [...]

Special Love’s hallmark program, Camp Fantastic, is frequently referred to by the campers as “the best week of the year” and this year was no different. We hosted 100 pediatric oncology patients ages 7-17 in mid-August at the Northern VA 4-H Center in Front Royal, Virginia.  Camp Fantastic gives the kids everything that makes a traditional camp so fun, like canoeing, sports, crafts, swimming, and campfires. There were also some new, fun activities such as karate, two escape rooms, and virtual reality gaming. All big hits with kids of every age.   While most of the campers looked (and acted) [...]

When a child is diagnosed with cancer, the patient is not the only one effected, the entire family is. That is why we started up BRASS Camp, a week-long adventure for siblings who have a sibling currently on treatment or are bereaved.  This year, BRASS hosted 107 campers in late-July at Camp Maria in Leonardtown, MD, where siblings have the adventures of crabbing (the camp site is along Breton Bay), canoeing, sports, crafts and so much more!   Our musical camp theme this year was BRASSapoolooza. In keeping with our them we welcomed the band, Groove Span, and country line [...]

Fantastic Friends Weekend is a unique program in that the patient gets to bring a friend from home or they can choose to come alone. It is incredible to watch these teens (ages 13-17) integrate and bond and how they accept their friends even though they don’t know what the patient is experiencing. Their friends get to go home with a bit more understanding of what the patient goes through. This year we stayed at Camp Horizons at Valley Pike in Harrisonburg, VA. We welcomed 20 patients and 12 friends and spent the day at Massanutten Water Park. The water [...]