Give Okizu the OK

Perhaps you’ve heard about Camp Okizu, the terrific little facility near Berry Creek that serves kids with cancer and their families. Lately it’s been much in the news because it’s one of 100 finalists in a competition among charities to win as much as $1 million through the Chase Community Giving Program.

That it’s gotten this far is amazing enough: There were some 500,000 nonprofits in round one of the competition. By being selected among the top 100, Camp Okizu has already won $25,000, but it could make really good use of the top prize—or one of the five $100,000 runners-up awards.

What makes this camp so special is that it gives kids with cancer a place to play and have fun where they are no longer an exception, no longer not normal, and where they can become friends with other children who are dealing with the disease.

Okizu sponsors seven week-long camps every summer for about 100 children each. It also has four weekend family camps—two for parents and kids and two for siblings. They are staffed by more than 600 volunteers, including doctors and nurses. It’s a truly wonderful organization, and it deserves all the support we can give it in the form of online votes.

The easiest way to vote is to go directly to www.okizu.org. Or, from Facebook, go to Chase Community Giving. Vote and then pass on the challenge to your Facebook friends. And hurry: Deadline is Friday, Jan. 22, at midnight.