News
Camp inspires dreams for children
with heart disease
Since the mid-1990s, UB faculty member Ray Orrange and his wife, Mary Beth, have been active volunteers with the Dreams from the Heart Camp. Created in 1994 for kids with congenital heart disease, the free camp is programmed as a full summer experience, with activities that include swimming and canoeing. The pace of Dreams from the Heart is less strenuous than other camps and takes place under the supervision of cardiologists and nurses from Pediatric Cardiology Associates of Western New York.
The Orranges have a deeply personal connection to their work with the organization: They lost their son, Paul, to heart disease in 1996. They have been committed ever since to helping Dreams from the Heart succeed and grow.
“This started with about 10 kids who went to camp with money raised through bake sales,” says Orrange, adjunct assistant professor in the School of Management. “Today, there are nearly 100 participants, with a committed staff made up exclusively of volunteers.”
For four days and three nights, campers live at the Lake Chautauqua Lutheran Center. Orrange says the experience not only lets them spend time with other kids, but also gives participants a chance to interact with their doctors outside of a patient-care setting.
“The kids get to see their doctors as people, spending time with them, interacting and having fun,” he says. “They get to see their doctors not just as physicians, but as caring individuals.”
Although Paul never had the chance to take part in Dreams from the Heart, Orrange says his presence is still very much a part of the experience.
“Our involvement allows my wife and me to see our son in these other kids.”
Donations to the UB Employees Campaign for the Community have helped Dreams from the Heart continue its practice of providing the camp’s activities free of charge.
“For me, it is rewarding to know that the donations let a kid who otherwise couldn’t enjoy the experience to go to camp and have a great time,” says Orrange.
The Employees Campaign for the Community allows UB faculty and staff to contribute to any of more than 600 health, human service, educational, environmental and cultural organizations. Employees can:
- Make a donation by Oct. 30 either online or with a paper pledge form, also available on the campaign’s website, to qualify for the free parking pass drawing.
- Read more about the impact of their gift.
- Read personal stories about fellow UB employees who have been helped by the campaign.
- Check out the campaign scorecard showing the progress of each unit.
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