Today we’d like to introduce you to Gregory Hill.
Gregory, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Right after I graduated from college, Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. Seeing the immense need — I decided to volunteer in Mississippi and New Orleans supporting the response. I found working with volunteers to be gratifying and as a result, took up a position with an affiliate of the Hands On Network in Washington, DC organizing volunteer days in the community. I even had the honor of leading former President Obama and the First Family in two days of service at the beginning of his first term.
Knowing that I wanted to get back to emergency response and work with children– I took up a position with Save the Children overseas in Ethiopia, supporting their refugee response on the border of Somalia following the famine in the Horn of Africa. During my time at Save the Children, I supported refugee responses all around the world including South Sudan, Niger and Iraq, among other locations.
After my wife and I welcomed the birth of our daughter in 2016, I stepped away from the humanitarian work – and I joined the Sunrise Association as the Executive Director of Aurora Day Camp. I saw it as an opportunity to take all that I have learned managing community programs and working with children to start an amazing program for children affected by cancer in the Atlanta area.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There are always struggles, but I am a first believer in remaining optimistic. The path to success is never a straight line – so you need to be able to roll with the punches. If you know where you are trying to go, it’s much easier to get there.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Aurora Day Camp – what should we know?
The first Sunrise Day Camp opened its doors in New York during the summer of 2006 as a project of the Friedberg Jewish Community Center. The camp – the first of its kind in the entire world – offered a free, full summer day camp experience to 96 children affected by cancer.
Now in its thirteenth year, Sunrise is an independent 501(c)(3), providing services to over 4,500 children annually through its day camps and year-round programs – both in and outside our affiliated hospital network. There are currently seven Sunrise Day Camps – three in New York (Long Island, Pearl River and Staten Island), one in Maryland (Baltimore) and three in Israel (Beit Yehoshuah, Be’er Sheva, and Ramat Yochanan). We are excited to be opening our eighth camp – Aurora Day Camp – this summer in Atlanta, Georgia.
Aurora Day Camp is Georgia’s first full summer day camp for children with cancer and their siblings offered completely free of charge to families. While overnight camps exist for children with cancer, not all children are physically able or comfortable to sleep outside of their own homes particularly when they are very young and/or recently diagnosed, not all parents are emotionally prepared to have their children far from them when they are undergoing treatment, and not all treatment plans can accommodate a hiatus or a facility different from their home hospital. Aurora – as a day camp – provides a type of camp that no one else is offering in Atlanta, filling a critical gap in the social, emotional and recreational needs of these children.
Recognizing the extraordinary financial demands that a child’s chronic illness can have on a family, Aurora Day Camp and all of its year-round programs will always be offered 100% free of charge to families.
If we have learned anything these last twelve years as an organization, we have learned this: children suffering from cancer – and their siblings – just want the opportunity to act and be treated like “normal” children. All our programs allow children to play among their peers in a safe and fun environment, where they feel no insecurity about their ports, scars, lack of hair or missing limbs, and where they are supported and encouraged by those sharing the same experiences.
So much of what we are as adults is derived from our childhood; it is during that period of time that we learn self- confidence, new skills, how to compromise, how to empathize, how to act among others, and so much more. Normal social and recreational opportunities are critical to becoming competent adults. At Aurora, our children – who have had so much taken from them – will be given the chance to experience a normal childhood and all the wonders and benefits that go with it.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Staying focused and remaining calm.
Contact Info:
- Address: 3340 Peachtree Rd NE Suite #1010 Atlanta, GA 30326
- Website: www.auroradaycamp.org
- Phone: 470-632-0909
- Email: gregory@auroradaycamp.org
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