Dear dedicated Camp Rising Sun supporters,

Every now and then one has the opportunity to peek behind the curtain and witness the often unseen efforts of people who seemingly make magic happen. This year I had the often formidable, sometimes humbling, and overall agreeable opportunity to sit in Helene's chair one day a week while she was on maternity leave. This gave me a close-up view of the dedicated and talented staff that keeps the LAJF running. These are the people who, day in and day out, allow us to provide the distinct and life-changing experience we call Camp Rising Sun to promising young people from around the world.

This year the cast of talented members included:

Yena Purmasir - Yena is a poet. She is a New Yorker. She is a compassionate CRS alumna. She is an organizational warrior who labored for months to book flights, arrange visa interviews, field 2,001 questions from applicants, selectors, and government gatekeepers and to make sure that 120 campers knew what was required to get them to the buses for transport to Camp. She held the virtual hands of parents across the globe as they debated the merits of sending their children to a program they had never heard of until a few short months ago. She has managed it all with a sense of humor while consistently demonstrating grace under pressure. She joined our staff at Camp this summer with responsibility for evening programs. Thank you, Yena.

Savannah Hawke - P rior to Savannah's recruitment we relied on a series of accounting temps to handle the day-to-day bookkeeping and administrative requirements of the LAJF. This did not work for our organization. Savannah has consistently demonstrated a capacity to remain unflustered even as she worked to resolve problems that would have challenged the most stoic of souls. Due entirely to her hard work, talent, persistence, and attention to detail we have resolved longstanding administrative issues AND still found time to get our staff, vendors and F&I committee caught up on all the work that is required to keep lights on, staff paid and campers fed. Thank you, Savannah.

Ritam Mehta - Ritam has managed to wear many hats- so many, I have lost track. Ritam has transformed our web and social media presence. He has helped us to transition to modern email and phone systems, redesign our websites, take advantage of Facebook to involve alumni in the CRS experience and to support our recent campers. He did all of this while being a full-time student, part-time intern with the NYC Board of Education AND serving as a staff member at CRS this summer. Thank you, Ritam.

Cameron Rylance - Cameron is our longest serving staff member. He has devoted himself to sustaining the Clinton campus and his efforts are clearly visible to anybody who has the opportunity to walk down the path from the main building to tent hill to the pool to the pond and out to the woods that are the southern border to the Clinton campus. Cameron has gone above and beyond the call of duty, organizing alumni activities at Camp including the fall and spring retreats, tent weekend and our ever-popular maple syrup weekend. He has somehow managed to meet and often exceed the ever-changing requirements of local authorities, including changing out the hardware of all locking doors across the entire campus on what can charitably be described as "short notice." Thank you, Cameron.

Janessa Schilmoeller - Janessa agreed to take on what is understood to be a "big job." Being a camp director for 120 campers and a staff of 25 (including volunteers) over the course of a summer involves far more than most people who have never held the job can imagine. Selecting staff members to fill critical roles such as Nurse and Chef are usually the most challenging, but other positions are daunting in their own ways. Staff training must satisfy our program needs but also the health and safety requirements of a camp situated in New York and regulated by government thereof. Janessa brings with her years of domestic and international work in youth education, admirable professional and educational credentials and a can-do attitude that gets things done. Thank you, Janessa.

Elyem Chej - Elyem joined us in May after completing her Bachelor's degree in Spain. Her job was especially challenging as she stepped into the role just as Yena was transitioning to summer staff. Elyem had to take care of all the hosting and home visits for the boys, arrange buses for the trip to Camp, give campers tours of New York, work on 101 database projects, manage the mid-season Alumni Reunion AND handle all of the last minute travel issues that arise every summer. Did I mention all the work on Facebook? Thank you, Elyem

If I ever begin to wonder why it is that our volunteers are willing to devote thousands of collective hours per year on the essential tasks of fundraising, facilities management, budgeting and governance, all I need to do is look at the dedication of the staff. The commitment of young, talented, CRS alumni year after year continues to inspire me. Their belief in our mission and program is the best form of inspiration I can ask for.

Warm regards,

Damian Brennan

President, The Louis August Jonas Foundation