It was fantastic to see one of Camp Starlight’s campers, Sam Seltzer, host “Stack The Caps” at his school!
He collected over 200 new and unused baseball hats that he will be donate to kids with cancer.
If your Interested in hosting your own Stack the Caps event in your local community, check out our website at stackthecaps.com.
And don’t forget to bring your caps to camp this summer for our annual Stack the Cap event.
Friday, July 4, 2014,
the Stack the Caps tradition continued at Camp Starlight. The event was inspired by camper and a true role model for girls, Brielle Namer, who died from a very rare form of cancer. Campers and staff continued the quest to stack over a mile of caps by donating new and unused baseball caps to be donated to children with cancer. Over 400 feet of caps have been stacked by Camp Starlight since Stack the Caps begin in 2008. Memorial Sloane Kettering and Children’s Hospital Boston receive the donations and distribute the caps. Outside of Camp Starlight, Stack the Caps events are held throughout the year at schools and private functions. If you are interested in hosting a Stack the Cap events in your local community or school, visit stackthecamps.com for more information.
Summer is now just around the corner, and we know all of you are getting excited that so soon we will all be together again at Camp Starlight. Part of what the people who return year after year to Starlight love so much is that being a Starlighter is being a part of a community. You become a small part of something big and wonderful that we all love. A really great way to give back to not only the Starlight community, but in your hometowns and school systems, is by supporting a non for profit organization dear to the Camp Starlight family’s heart, Stack the Caps for Kids with Cancer.
Stack the Caps began in 2008 at Camp Starlight in Starlight, Pennsylvania. The event was inspired by a wonderful camper and a true role model for adolescent girls, Brielle Namer, who died from a very rare form of cancer. In her memory, Camp Starlight’s Owners and Directors have organized an annual drive to provide new baseball caps to children with cancer. Over 400 feet of caps have been stacked by Camp Starlight in the five years since the inception of Stack the Caps. Memorial Sloane Kettering and Children’s Hospital Boston are two hospitals to receive donations. Our goal is to stack over one mile of caps. Many of you have participated in the Stack the Caps events held at camp each summer, but did you know you can do even more for the cause by hosting a Stack the Caps event at home?
Hosting a Stack the Caps event is a fun, unique, and rewarding way to bring together any community you are a part of. You could hold 
an event at your school, temple, or with any other sports teams or organizations you participate in. It is a great way to satisfy community service hour requirements you may have for school or, as many of you have already done, a wonderful cause to use for your bar/bat mitzvah projects. To get more information on how you can help support Stack the Caps for Kids with Cancer, visit the website www.stackthecaps.com or simply email info@stackthecaps.com to get started on hosting your event!
The Starlight family is a very strong one, with bonds lasting over multiple generations or even between future best friends who just met. We keep in touch while away from each other during the year and always support our camp family. So appropriately, the theme for the first week of camp was “community.” Jason preached this ideal during our weekly service, saying how we should stick together, through thick and thin. This idea is evidenced through our camp’s two charities, “Stack the Caps” and “Paint the Caps.”
These organizations stem from the memories of a former camper, who a few years ago passed away after a battle with a rare form of cancer. Their collective purpose is to provide new or decorated hats to children who have lost their hair because of chemotherapy. This mission statement is sincere, and has consequently brightened the lives of many. “Stack” and “Paint” have gone from camp activities to nationwide events, with people from all around the country participating. We’ve had individuals like Ally S, Julia G, Lauren M, Corey W, and Kyle M collecting hats for their B’nei Mitzvah projects. Griffin M, Liv S, Alyssa M. Alison E, and Hayley M stacked hats at their school and Adam F organized hat decorating events at his temple.
At our own camp event last Friday, with the help of all the campers, ranging from lower juniors to upper seniors, we stacked over eight feet of hats. The involvement by so many shows the true, heartfelt feelings of the Starlight family. The ties are so strong and throughout the year campers count down the days until they return to their second home. Our two organizations try to keep this connection alive by not only setting forth the meaningful donation of hats, but by also kindling the fire of our memories. For more information on the charities or to learn how to get involved, please visit the websites below:
With thanks to Adam F for his contribution to this blog.
The first national “Paint the Caps” school event was held at The Benjamin School’s 50th Anniversary Kickoff Celebration on October 3, 2010 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. “Paint the Caps” is an organization that provides pediatric cancer patients with personalized, hand-decorated baseball caps. The purpose of “Paint the Caps” is to brighten the lives of cancer patients by providing them with a sense of love and support during these difficult times in their lives.
This event was organized by one of “Paint the Caps” founders, Hayley Miller, and representatives of the Benjamin School, student, Jamie Corey and visual arts teacher, Mrs. Monica Sweeney, along with the Benjamin School’s National Art Honor Society students. For a donation, Students, parents and alumni had an opportunity to work hand and hand with the art students to create original designed hats. The hats will be donated to P.O.S.T., Pediatric Oncology Support Team, and distributed to local children’s hospitals. The proceeds from the donations to participate in the event will benefit The Benjamin School Memorial Fund. If you are interested in hosting an event, please feel free to contact info@stackthecaps.com for more information.
Hayley Miller
Earlier this week, the Camp Starlight population demonstrated its dedication to continuing to help those in need through their generous contributions in the annual Camp Starlight Stack the Caps event. Starlight staff and campers donated four more feet of caps to the Stack the Caps charity, which is sponsored by Camp Starlight! In the spirit of Starlight’s emphasis on community, the CA’s are also involved in a new project this year called “Paint the Caps”. Everyone is encouraged to bring more caps with them on Visiting Day. Let’s keep stacking those caps!
Over 26 feet of caps have been stacked by Camp Starlight in the two years since the inception of Stack the Caps. Now, Stack the Caps events are being held all over the country and we no longer measure a mile in feet but in caps. Thanks to events this year in Florida, New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey, we’re rising rapidly toward our goal. Even Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift, Tim Tebow, and Lindsay Vonn got in on the action this winter by signing caps! But we need your help to make the annual event at camp this summer the best ever by breaking all previous stacking records. We think it would be fun to see caps that represent the diversity of our Camp Starlight family. So we’re asking everyone to bring a cap—or several–that represents you in some way. Hats bearing logos of colleges or high schools, favorite amusement parks or vacation destinations, home countries or cities, music artists or bands, etc. are a great way to give your Stack the Caps donation added meaning by sharing something that’s special to you with someone else. You can also make your donation a one of a kind by designing your own cap to stack. Just bring a plain white hat to decorate as part of the new Paint the Caps for Kids with Cancer event, which will be led by our CA’s. Remember, you’re not limited to just one cap. Bring as many as you want. We encourage you to get creative. Have a neighborhood drive or ask your friends and family to donate hats as well. The more hats we gather, the higher the stack gets!
Don’t forget, all donated caps must be new and unworn. For even more information on Stack the Caps events or to host your own, please visit us as www.stackthecaps.com or send an email to info@stackthecaps.com.
