Go out to Lake Anne, in Reston, VA at 2:00pm  on February 11th and show your support for Camp Sunshine! You can show your support by taking the plunge, being there for moral support, or making a donation to our Elite Fitness Concepts Team page . Elite Fitness Concepts is a Gym, Yoga, Zumba and Spin Center in Great Falls, VA . 

We are counting on you!!  Follow this ink for donation: http://csun.convio.net/site/TR/PolarBear... 

About the 2017 Virginia Polar Dip.. Why a Virginia based event for a camp in Maine? 

The Virginia Polar Dip was started by the Toth family in 2008 after a long history with Camp Sunshine. They first attended Camp Sunshine as a participating family in 1996 when their daughter Jennifer was a cancer patient at age 3, and they have returned as volunteers every summer since. After Jennifer participated in a Camp Sunshine Polar Dip in New Jersey, her family decided to bring the event to Virginia in order to help more local families. With the success of the event over the first five years they have expanded the area of families they are able to help. 

Since the start of Camp Sunshine in 1984, we have provided a haven for more than 48,900 family members from 50 states and 27 countries. Sadly, even with multiple sessions being added annually at Camp Sunshine, there are still many more children being newly diagnosed each year. Our program continues to be recommended by more than 100 treatment centers across the nation. 

Our program is recommended by the following Mid-Atlantic area treatment centers: Children's National Medical Center in D.C., Georgetown University Hospital, Inova Fairfax Hospital, University of Virginia Children's Hospital, Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters, Medical College of Virginia, Johns Hopkins Children's Center in Maryland, University of Maryland Medical Center, Walter Reid Army Medical Center, Alfred I. DuPont Hospital for Children, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, Hershey Medical Center, Lehigh Valley Hospital, St. Christopher Hospital for Children, West Virginia University Children's Hospital, Baptist Hospital/Brenners Children's, Duke University Medical Center, Levine Children's Hospital, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of NC Hospitals. 

Founded in 1984, Camp Sunshine provides retreats combining respite, recreation and support, while enabling hope and promoting joy, for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families through the various stages of a child’s illness. 

Camp Sunshine is the only program in the nation offered year-round with the distinction of having been designed to serve the entire family in a retreat model. The program is free of charge to families and includes on-site medical and psychosocial support. Bereavement sessions are also offered for families who have experienced the death of a child from a supported illness.