Patrick Gallivan

Patrick Gallivan ( SMC Public Relations)

Camp Ta-Kum-Ta is a week long summer camp for kids from 7-17. It's located in South Hero, Vermont, and it was founded in 1984. But there's something very special about this camp; it is for kids who have or have had cancer. When Patrick Gallivan was first asked to join the Camp Ta-Kum-Ta staff, he wasn't quite sure how he would do. He wasn't sure how to handle kids who were sick, and he was scared he wouldn't be able to. Now though, he considers it his "life in perspective week". "As bad of a day as I might be having at the office, it's nothing compared to a child that's suffering from cancer," he says.

Patrick has volunteered at Camp Ta-Kum-Ta since 1995. When he first started out, he was a security guard. His job was to check kids in to the camp, and make sure no one came in that wasn't supposed to. He also had to do a night check. In 1998, he became the facilitator of the camp, a position he still holds today. His job is to make sure everything is on schedule. He is also currently the Vice President of the camp.

Patrick with a camper (Camp Ta-Kum-Ta)

As for the fun of the camp, Patrick assures that there is plenty. "There was one time that we celebrated about twelve different holidays over the course of the day," he remembers. There is also a camp tradition of pranks over the week. There has been Zumba dancing at three o'clock in the morning, a cafeteria replaced by a used car lot, lots of missing silverware, and even a live goat walking through a cabin.

The earliest volunteering that Patrick can remember is doing blood drives in high school, but he has done a lot since then. He has volunteered on the steering committee of the Irish Heritage Festival and served on the board of trustees of Burlington College which are both located in Burlington, Vermont. Patrick is currently the Vice President for Institutional Advancement and Alumni Relations at Saint Michael's College, and he volunteers at the college by taking kids on service trips. Patrick says that by volunteering, you're not only helping others, but you are also helping yourself. "Each of the organizations that I've been a part of have helped me as a person," he states.

Patrick is an incredible person. He has changed many kids' lives and made their experience at camp as fun as possible. The camp has an amazing impact on the kids that go. One boy that came to the camp, spending more time in a wheelchair than not, was running to his parents by the end of the week. It is easy to see that Patrick loves what he does. He is an inspiration to many, including myself.