Nonprofit gets grant to rebuild camp
Amid a bleak year, the Okizu Foundation got some help through a $25,000 grant to help rebuild its camp lost to wildfire.
Okizu, a Novato-based nonprofit to help children and families coping with cancer, was already reeling from revenue losses from the pandemic. The loss of its camp in Butte County was “heartbreaking,” said Suzie Randall, Okizu’s interim director.
The grant was provided by the Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the doughnut and coffee company.
“We’re so grateful for this donation and are honored that the
Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation stands behind our mission to help all members of families affected by childhood cancer through peer support, respite, mentoring and recreational programs,” Randall said.
The Bear fire destroyed the Berry Creek camp in September. The fire was part of the North Complex fire, which scorched 318,935 acres of Butte and Plumas counties, destroyed 2,455 structures and killed 16 people, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
The camp had been closed since April due to the pandemic, and its programming was shifted online, Randall said. Still, she said, losing the camp lodge and infirmary was devastating.
“It’s a significant loss,” said Randall, who started working with Okizu as a volunteer in 1989. “But it’s not going to prevent us from carrying out our programs online. Just as soon as it’s safe to have our families back together in-person we will do that. For the first 18 years we existed, we rented out other camps, so this situation is not foreign to us.”
She said the grant has given the staff renewed hope for the future heading into the organization’s 40th year of service. It will be offering its programming free online while it develops a recovery plan for the camp, which was built in 2000.
“For just over 20 years that has been a home away from home for kids with cancer and families,” she
said.
Erica and Blake Boznanski and their children Dylan, Beckett and Tanner were referred to the camp after Beckett was diagnosed with leukemia at 4 years old. They spent a summer together and met other families who were going through the same thing, Erica Boznanski.
“It is what cancer treatment should be,” she said. “It should be part of the protocol because there is a human factor needed among all this to help with healing. When you get what your child protocol is, it’s not just the steps, but it’s the longterm side effects. So it’s like a gut punch followed by getting hit by freight train, every single time.”
“To have this humane aspect, connectedness and
compassion while truly supporting a comfortable, safe place for families to just be, is such a place of healing,” she said. “It’s truly amazing. It’s been transformative for us.”
Randall said she doesn’t know when the camp will be rebuilt, but work is ongoing.
“Right now we are in recovery mode,” she said. “Debris removal, timber removal of trees that were burned and died, and there is ongoing work protecting the site from erosion damage over the winter. There are several recovery steps before we can dig into the rebuild.”
The foundation also launched a fundraising campaign that has generated more than $125,000 through one-time donations, according to its website. Randall said that while the camp was insured, the cost of the damage is still unknown.