On the Horizon for Evelyn

In many ways, Evelyn is your typical kindergartener. She loves school, gymnastics, soccer, reading, drawing, and playing with her younger sister. But in many ways, she is not. In February 2021, Evelyn was diagnosed with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). She is being treated at Children’s National Medical Center and will receive chemotherapy through next May.

Evelyn’s family learned about one of Sunrise’s new day camps, Horizon Day Camp–Metro DC, at a pediatric oncology resource night. Evelyn’s parents, Katharine and Kevin, signed Evelyn up right away. Evelyn is the first camper to have registered with Horizon Day Camp–Metro DC and is serving with her parents as the camp’s ambassador family. Ambassador families represent the camps at various functions. Evelyn and her parents share Sunrise’s enthusiasm for the start of summer!

“Evelyn is very excited to meet new friends, be outside doing activities, get in the pool, do crafts, and learn new camp songs,” said Katharine. “Plus, this will be Evelyn’s first time at camp!” As Evelyn was in full-time day care prior to starting kindergarten, this summer is the first one that Evelyn has school vacation months to fill. “The task of finding something fun, enriching, and affordable for 10 weeks of the summer is a challenge when both parents are working,” explained Katharine. “This summer, we had the added challenge of finding a camp that was inclusive for kids like Evelyn with medical conditions that require an extra level of safety including for COVID.” Katharine said that she was impressed with Horizon–Metro DC’s mission and focus on having fun—while also allowing for safety precautions and scheduling flexibility.

“Horizon will be a special place, where instead of being an outlier, Evelyn and our family know that we are in a place where others will go out of their way to make sure Evelyn is safe and included,” Katharine said.

“We are so incredibly thankful for that and can’t wait to see what the summer holds for Evelyn!”