UNCW student needs votes to bring Camp Kesem to the Cape Fear

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Veronica Wernicke is one of millions of children who learned about cancer at an early age.

“My mom was diagnosed when I was in second grade. So, that’s pretty much a majority of my life and you feel very alone. Yes, I had my sister and she had me, but the kids in our neighborhood didn’t know what it was like to have a parent with cancer,” Wernicke said.

Her mom tried to find things for the whole family to do. She eventually came across Camp Kesem, a camp for kids whose parents have cancer. Wernicke went to camp at a chapter in Illinois and said it changed her life.

“They just created a really strong family for me and they just made lasting memories that I’ll never forget and they understood,” Wernicke said.

Now, she wants to do her part for the Cape Fear and bring Camp Kesem to UNCW. Camp Kesem is adding new chapters and she needs votes to make a camp here a reality.

“You can vote once from your computer, once from your phone, and then you can share the vote on either Facebook or Twitter. And then that counts as three votes per day. So, I’m just asking you to vote, share the vote, tell your friends, pass it on, and just so we can get it out there,” Wernicke said.

She wants the program to make a difference for kids in this area, just as it did for her.

“As a child of a parent who had cancer, you don’t meet a lot of people who understand. Like friends will say like they’re sorry or they’re sympathetic but they don’t know what that feels like. At Camp Kesem, people know what it’s like but they don’t make you feel sad. They make you feel happy,” Wernicke said.

Voting closes on Friday. If you want to show your support, vote here.