February 8, 2024 • 45 mins
BONUS EPISODE! Today's installment of "Ask Kevin (Almost) Anything" features Kevin fielding questions from his biggest fans and those that have called in or sent a message with their very own questions.
In today's episode, Kevin and Stacy Huston, Executive Director of SixDegrees.org, field questions about the likelihood of a Footloose sequel, Kevin and Kyra's special recipe, and highlight a very special organization that helps ill and disabled kids find community.
Nothing is off the table! Tune in for this intimate and touching episode of Ask Kevin (Almost) Anything.
To learn more about Camp Cole, head to their website at www.campcole.org to get involved.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hey, folks, We're back for another the second episode of
Ask Kevin Almost Anything. This is our second one. I mean,
the idea is that people have written in and reached
out and said, you know, we got some questions that
we're wondering, and so we look through and we decide
(00:22):
what would be fun to respond to it, and we'll
see how this goes. I am joined now by the
executive director of six Degrees dot Org Stacy Houston, who
(00:42):
is awesome and I concur yeah, and who's a little
tired because she saw Madonna last night, but has decided
to rally today and coy and join me here in
Ask Kevin Almost Anything.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
I stays, Hi, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
If Madonna can do it, I can do it. I'm inspired.
That's for sure.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
Good idea, good idea. She's something amazing. It really is.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Talk about a show.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
I don't think I've ever seen Madonna alive. I think
that it probably didn't quite line up with my age,
and then I don't know. For some reason, I just
that that's a show that I never saw, but it
must be incredible.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
It was really incredible.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
It was a pretty diverse audience for sure, But I
think that, yeah, she put on on one hell of
a show called the Celebration Tour. So it's kind of
like all all of her music throughout the year, so
something for everyone.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
I think a lot of young people there, yeah, I.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Think so and not so young. I mean she's sixty five.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Is my age, same age as Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
Yeah, but she was definitely it was very theatrical, so
I think similarly to a lot of the you know,
the bigger pop stars of today, Like she's still moving
around that stage and telling a story and a lot
of actual social impact stuff, right, A lot of things
that she talked about through her music that she kind
(02:20):
of highlighted with the stage design and the sets and
those sorts of things, especially around like the LGBTQ community
and the HIV crisis of the eighties and things like that.
So it was powerful. It was really really cool.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Yeah, it's funny you bring that up, because when you
really think about it, she was really there is an
element of UH pop female pop stars who you know,
have sort of empowered the various sometimes unrecognized factions of
(02:59):
their uh their audience and given them a voice and
support in ways. And I think she really was one
of the first. I mean, you know, followed certainly by
Gaga and now you know Tailor and Beyonce, and you know,
(03:19):
it's like you you you you go beyond just making
the music and and even beyond just having the adoration
of of your fans, but you actually are are trying
to support people to you know, kind of be who
they are, you know, Harry Styles and you know, it's
it's interesting, but but Donna was really sort of a
(03:40):
you know, a pioneer in that way. I think that
you know, in music, a lot of the early rock
stars and the idea was that you just you were
kind of trying to keep it distance. That was kind
of part of what rock and roll was that you
were this sort of distant, you know, kind of persona
and and not necessarily you were more kind of speaking
(04:02):
two people than speaking four people. So I think I
think it's interesting that she was early in that that movement.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
Yeah, and it definitely I think probably inspired those that
came after her, right for sure, Yeah, to not squander
that opportunity, Yeah, and definitely not shy away from it
because she's bold now. But I can only imagine when
she started, you know, forty years ago. Yeah, that was
like a moment.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
So well, I first saw her in Uh, oh gosh,
whatlder that movie? I feel like maybe it was a
Jonathan Demi movie. I'm trying to she had a small part.
Oh boy, what was it? And but she was it
was you know, a lot of it was like her
kind of singular style and the look and her you know,
(04:54):
just she's attitude. You know, she was just kind of badass. Anyway,
this is the Madonna, So.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
Yeah, she deserves her own episode.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
Thank you, Madonna for letting us just riff on you
for a little bit.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
Well let me read the first question. How's that? Since
this is called ask Kevin almost anything? Uh, this is
from CHRISA And she says, Hi, Kevin, I'm from food Bank,
Victoria in Australia. Love what you do. I was wondering
if you have any budget type recipes that we can
share with our folks. I just thought it could be
(05:30):
a fun thing to do. Oh yeah, if you have
any other ideas. I know you help so many people already,
but I thought it was worth asking. Cheers Chris. Okay,
so when she's talking about budget type recipes, I can
tell you that one of our favorite things that we make,
(05:52):
when you know, a lot of times will be thinking, well,
what are we going to do tonight? What are we
going to get? You know, cures very big on like
finding new recipes. You know, she does searches and follows things,
and I'm a little bit more, you know, just kind
of improvisational. But you know, it's usually we have some
(06:13):
kind of big idea and every once in a while
we want to stay in but we're out of big
ideas and we've we have a short handle. We'd just
go pantry and she says yes, and I say pantry, yeah,
And it's really pantry pasta is what it is. So
(06:34):
you generally have lying around at least a couple of
clothes of garlic or an onion. And then that's always
like the basis for anything, right, any any any thing
that's worth eating, It starts with it, you know, some
garlic or some onion. So you you put that in
(06:57):
the pan and you start you like, so I tell
you that, and then you open up the pantry and
you see what's in there. And so it could be
a can of tomatoes, it could be a lot of ours.
Is like a can of tomatoes we get opened up,
a can of tuna we throw in some you know,
(07:21):
whatever kind of herbs you have, we're lying around and
even if they're dried, you know, some regular basically you
just make a sauce, add a little bit of wine,
something has to be, you know, make it liquid enough,
and then you make some pasta and you put it
on and that's pantry pasta. We've we've oftentimes have a
(07:44):
lot of people have some capers lying around, some olives
lying around, some you know. I mean, it sounds it
sounds like I'm just making something from garbage, but it
really is is these are all things that will keep forever. Yeah,
And that's that's what we do Petripasta.
Speaker 3 (08:02):
So this kind of reminds me of this woman that
I met recently and feeling pretty bad right now that
her name is escaping me. But she has an Instagram
page and she I don't know if she's coined this,
but she does this thing called shelf Timber where it's
like in September she challenges everybody to only use fifty
(08:27):
dollars a week for groceries. I think she's a pretty
large family. I think she has like six or seven
kids something like that. Well, so I think this might
help Chris's community as well, you know, and they are
challenged to use only what's in the pantry on their
shelves for this whole month, and then they can buy like,
(08:51):
you know, chicken or some of those additive type things
to round out a meal with the fifty dollars. And
it's a way that they save up for the holidays
that are quickly approaching. Right, So it's like we're gonna
eat in, We're gonna just clear out our pantry because,
like you said, I mean, have you ever got I mean,
(09:12):
this is my experience. I'd go to my mom's house
and I would go into her pantry and I would
see something from like two thousand and and four, and
I'm like ah, and I'm like, like, you're what It's
like a can of olives and You're like, hey, I'm
pretty sure this is expired. And she's like it's fine.
I'm like, no, Like, I don't think you should eat this.
(09:34):
Like there has to be some reason why we can't
just keep things forever, you know, But.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
Can't you eat a two thousand and four tour Alli?
I don't know. I think I probably would. I'm embarrassed
to say I don't really check the labels that often
although my mother she uh, well, first off, she wasn't
a good cook. Nobody likes to say that about their
mother once. My mother was a bit, but my mother
(10:00):
was a terrible cook. Let's face it. She had six kids. Yeah,
And and she was kind of often doing what it
is that talking about just kind of you know, finding
some stuff and whipping something up. I mean, I think
that we're a lot better at making it taste good.
Speaker 3 (10:20):
But she wasn't as good as improvising as you're saying.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
No, And she would she would take things and she
didn't believe she's very much ahead of her time in
terms of this, but she didn't believe in like single
use plastic. And and so she would just take food
and just put it in a bowl and just stick
it in the refrigerator and sometimes it would sit there
for a couple of weeks. And that that's the stuff
(10:44):
that I was like not not going near in a
case something that was actually vacuum fact or sealed. I'm
okay with it. And you know, I'll tell you something
interesting in terms of like, as we know, fresh food
often goes hand and often people who have food insecurity,
it becomes very hard for them to find fresh food.
(11:04):
There aren't places that actually have you know, fresh produce.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
There are in food deserts often, yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
Food deserts. Yeah. But one thing that is true, and
I'm not a nutritionist, but I can tell you that
I recently read an article which was had to do
with which was written by you know, smarter people that
me scientists saying these are the things that we wish
people would stop believing in terms of food nutrition, and
(11:33):
one of them was that canned fruits and vegetables are nutritionous, nutritional.
They You can have a frozen or canned or frozen
fruits and vegetables, if they contained a whole ton of
sugar like that's added, then possibly that's you know, going
(11:57):
to you're gonna have to kind of keep an eye
on that. But if you're talking about a can of
peas or or or a bag of spinach that's been frozen,
these are that you don't lose any nutritional value from
from vegetables when they're when they're frozen or can Apparently
it's some yeah, and in some cases it's actually they
actually have more vehements and minerals than they do if
(12:20):
you cook them down and cook them fresh. So when
I when I learned that, I said, well, that's really
that's interesting because it it means that if there are
things that are on shelves that people can get, you know,
some good nutritional value from those from those fruits and vegetables. Anyway,
good question.
Speaker 3 (12:40):
Yeah, definitely, all right. Question number two do you want
to read it?
Speaker 4 (12:49):
Coup?
Speaker 1 (12:50):
Okay? This is from Rebecca Graham. Kevin, you with your
wonderful family are so special? A question for you? Would
you do Footloose too? U? Footloose too has been done?
Speaker 5 (13:06):
Has it?
Speaker 4 (13:06):
Though?
Speaker 3 (13:07):
I thought it was like a remake, you know, like, well,
what's your right?
Speaker 1 (13:11):
I mean, I feel your foot.
Speaker 3 (13:13):
Loose two would be like a sequel like you are now, John,
let's go.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
And I'm not banning dancing, not.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
Your banning dancing.
Speaker 3 (13:22):
But you know, like you're older, you've raised your own
your kids are are in high school, right, like I
feel like that's the sequel, right, like it's your son right.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
Never say never. I think it would be a disaster.
It's funny because they they made countless Friday the thirteenth,
you know, when I was in the very first Friday
the thirteenth. Then they remake Footlosts and they remade Flatliners,
and then I decided that they're just remaking all the
movies that I was in the beginning with F. So
(13:57):
if I do another movie that becaus with F will
probably probably, I don't know.
Speaker 3 (14:02):
You know, a few good men, let's not.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
Few good men? There you go, there you go? Well
that actually they're they're doing that too. No, yeah, I
think so that.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
Just makes me angry. Just leave well enough alone.
Speaker 3 (14:15):
No, seriously, I have a couple things like Dirty Dancing, obviously, especially.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
In my generation, that is like a classic. You watch it.
I watched it to death.
Speaker 3 (14:25):
I watched it so many times I could quote most
lines from that movie. They remade it, right, they did
a kind of part two Dirty Dancing Havanah Knights or
something like oh yeah, right right right, no offense who
everyone was in it. But no, it was not Just
leave leave them alone. If they ever try to remake Breakfast.
Speaker 2 (14:45):
Club, oh, I will start.
Speaker 3 (14:48):
A petition like, wow, is that one of your favorites?
That's my my yearbook quote? Was you know that closing
line of the movie, No, I doubt which of us
are a princess? A brain? The act of you know
a criminal and an outcast or.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
Something like that.
Speaker 3 (15:10):
Someone that loves that movie is actually really angry with
me right now.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
They're like, you don't love that.
Speaker 3 (15:14):
Movie this is the quote, but it shouldn't be remade.
But I feel like those are the types of movies
that are yeah, like on the chopping block, someone's going
to try to remake it.
Speaker 1 (15:27):
M I may yeah, yeah, Yeah. It's a funny thing
with remakes because I kind of agree with you. There
is something about let's just leave well enough alone unless
there's really a really kind of fresh idea. But the
other piece of it is that in our business, everyone
wants intellectual property and wants to, you know, revisit intellectual property.
(15:52):
That being said, you know, I'm in Beverly Hills Cop four,
and I think that's actually going to be really fun movie.
I think I think it had Top Gun, you know,
when they redid Top Gun recently, you know, or I
mean so anyway, I don't know what the story would
be for Footloose. It would have to be you know. Actually,
(16:17):
they actually offered me a part in the second, you know,
in the remake of Yeah it was terrible. The part was,
and I was like, why would I be in this playing.
It doesn't make any sense. Like it doesn't. It just
doesn't make any sense here. I'm not I'm not really understanding.
(16:38):
So anyway, they I said, no, they didn't. They didn't
miss me. Actually I thought I thought the dancing was
incredible in that movie. Yet the second one was in
a lot of ways a lot better than what we did.
But anyway, thanks for that question.
Speaker 3 (16:54):
And awesome, so we have a the special next question. Actually,
I received a note from Sharon Sawyer and Sharon was
writing in about her niece and her niece Kelsey, who
will hear about it because we have some audio clips
(17:17):
to play. But in short, Kelsey has had a really
has gone through some pretty hard circumstances. Right, So she
lost her brother to cancer when she was a kid
and he was a kid, and then in her early
twenties she lost her mother.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
And she was one of.
Speaker 3 (17:37):
These people who basically stared at grief and decided to
use it to fuel her to create pretty incredible impact
through starting a nonprofit. And so I read this note
that we had submitted and I just thought, I.
Speaker 2 (17:57):
Need to call Sharon. I want to talk to her.
Speaker 3 (17:59):
I want to, you know, hear her voice and hear
her talk about Kelsey and then following up with Kelsey
as well. So I want to share a clip from
that conversation with Sharon Sawyer where she really talks about
her niece, Kelsey's story and what she's done over the
last few years. So we're going to play that clip now.
Speaker 4 (18:21):
My niece Kelsey took tragedy, you know a lot of
tragedy in her life and turned it into something really
really good. Kelsey and her brother went to camp when
they were children. And when they went to camp, he
was eleven and she was thirteen, and it was a
pediatric cancer camp that.
Speaker 6 (18:40):
Is held locally.
Speaker 4 (18:41):
It was what everyone came to say Cole, her brother,
Cole's best week of his life. And she loved it
there too because they had siblings of children with cancer
there as well, and it was just a place you
could be yourself and you could be around other people
that had cancer.
Speaker 7 (19:01):
And her mother, Stacy was very, very.
Speaker 4 (19:04):
Involved with this camp after Cole passed away, and Stacey
became president of the local.
Speaker 7 (19:13):
Foundation that runs his camp and just had a huge
passion for it.
Speaker 4 (19:18):
Kelsey, as well as my children and a lot of
people in our family, all worked at.
Speaker 7 (19:24):
This camp retreat, you know, every year when it would come.
Speaker 8 (19:27):
But the biggest need they had was a facility or
a place that they could hold it that was safe,
that was like ADH eighty eight approved, close to the
local hospital. It just there was not a facility or
a place to do this locally, and so they were
taking children to the upstate and it was just a
(19:48):
long distance if someone got happened to get sick, you know,
the week of the thing. But Kelsey and all my
Kelsey became just very passionate as every counselor for Camp
Chemo ends up getting for the children.
Speaker 7 (20:02):
And that's where kind of it, that's kind of.
Speaker 4 (20:05):
What drove her to try to help build this retreat
center that her mother dreamed of years ago.
Speaker 7 (20:11):
After her mother had passed away.
Speaker 4 (20:14):
You know, when her mother passed away, they immediately, I
mean it was very suddenly when her mother passed away,
they immediately started a foundation named after Kelsey and I
mean named after Cole and Stacy and then with the
idea that they would possibly donate it to a camp
or build a camp. And the next thing you knew,
(20:34):
they were flying with it, and Kelsey and others in
the community decided to support this idea and build Camp Coal.
Speaker 6 (20:42):
And how much did they end up raising to build
Camp Coal.
Speaker 7 (20:47):
The initial.
Speaker 4 (20:50):
The initial capital campaign was nine million dollars and they
achieved that in under two years. When you're starting from
grassroots and nothing thing, it takes a lot to get
to that place. And there's a local family that was
just very instrumental in this.
Speaker 7 (21:08):
They bought the Fawcett family bought.
Speaker 4 (21:12):
The land that was donated to Camp Cole, which is
forty acres and they donated it to Camp Cole and
they bought it for this purpose. Their daughter too, was
a counselor at Camp Chemo and understood what it meant
for these children to be at camp for a.
Speaker 7 (21:27):
Week, and so you know, it started rolling from there.
Speaker 4 (21:32):
Those were friends of the family and friends at Kelsey
and her Dad's got new and they believed in the
dream and helped them a long way to get it
rolling on.
Speaker 3 (21:43):
You know, Kevin, when you first started six Degrees, did
you ever think about, like how difficult that fundraising piece is,
Because like when I hear that nine million dollars, that
is a ton two days in two years, amazing, It's incredible.
Speaker 1 (22:01):
Yeah, it's amazing. It's that is a that is a
lot of money. Yeah, and and and it's something that
I honestly I still you know, I still kind of
struggle with a little bit. You know, obviously if you
if you're if you're doing well, you're going to be
(22:23):
on the other end of people asking for money, you know,
a lot. And I think that, uh, you know, what
people do with their money and how much of it
they give away or or don't. You know, it's a
very private, very personal kind of decision. I mean I
(22:44):
think that uh, you know sometimes you know when when
people I'm sure there's people that like this family, that
that go out and just say, okay, I'm just gonna
buy this this, you know, forty acres for for these people,
and they probably do it quietly and aren't really you know,
looking for a big pad on the back. And that
(23:04):
there's people that publicly, you know, will donate you'll hear
about it, you know, donate millions of dollars to something.
And and I think those are both really really super
valid ways in order to to uh to you know,
spend your money or or or donate. I don't I
don't pass a judgment on either one. Of those things,
either saying privately or being public about it. But I
(23:26):
do know that it's it's not in my nature to
ask people for money. It's just for some reason, it's
it's not I've always found a little bit uncomfortable. We've
talked about the fact that, you know, I never really
wanted to do sort of typical fundraisers, you know, uh,
(23:47):
rubber chicken dinners and you know, auctions and that whole
that whole way of you know, working with with charity.
But it is a it's that's just the way it
I mean, that's there. There's no way around it. So
to answer your question, I didn't know how difficult it
was going to be, and but I did know that
it was going to be something that I was not
(24:09):
going to, you know, feel all that you know, comfortable
with in my situation. Also, there's this other piece of
it I think if you know too truthfully, which is
people can look at something like asking for a donation
and I'll say, well, why don't you just you know,
(24:29):
why don't you just pay for it? You know? But
I think this is really this is impressive that in
that amount of time that they're nowhere, where is this.
Speaker 2 (24:38):
Camp by the way, it's in South Carolina.
Speaker 3 (24:41):
South Carolina m H And yeah, no, it's incredible, And
she touched on a couple of things in there that
I think were really powerful, and it actually ties back
to your point that you just made. I think sometimes
when there's a celebrity that's like a founder of an organization,
it can be even more difficult because of that very reason.
People are like, well, why don't you just like solve
world hunger yourself?
Speaker 1 (25:01):
Right?
Speaker 3 (25:03):
But the key that makes I think Kelsey's organization Camp
Coal and Sharing story so powerful is that all these
people were touched by the work of Camp Chemo, which
was this earlier camp that they experienced as kids, and
they were so touched by it because they saw the
way it impacted their loved ones and their niece and
(25:24):
nephew that attended it, and then family members got engaged
and other community members got engaged. And I think that
that's the key. It's like, if there was just one
source of throw money at it, it actually doesn't do
anything right. You actually need people to be inspired, yeah,
to have skin in the game and to roll up
(25:44):
their sleeves and want to stand like shoulder shoulder with
you on this work right, because it's not just money
to build something like to operate something like this, which
they'll get into. It's an immense undertaking and I just
think it's is so incredible to think that, especially a
young woman that was, you know, facing that type of heartache,
(26:08):
was able to turn that into something so inspiring. I
want to play a little bit more from my conversation
with Kelsey, because I got a chance to reach out
to Kelsey, who is a dolt, just as Sharon braved
about her niece, I'm just so so so kind, and
(26:30):
she shared a little bit about you know who she
is and who Camp Cole was named after, and you
know why she started it. So let's play that clip now.
Speaker 5 (26:42):
My name is Kelsey Sawyer Cole and Camp Cole is
a camp for children, teams, and adults with illnesses, disabilities.
Speaker 6 (26:50):
And life changes.
Speaker 5 (26:53):
Camp Cole really started and was birthed out of a
place of pure love, joy and excitement.
Speaker 6 (27:00):
So Camp Quoe really came.
Speaker 5 (27:01):
About because at the age of eleven and I was
thirteen at the time, I had a younger brother who
was diagnosed with a really rare form of cancer, rapdomyasar coma,
and so with that diagnosis, we really saw our normalcy
in our daily lives kind of be flipped upside down.
Speaker 6 (27:21):
And so for.
Speaker 5 (27:21):
Us, you know, days were packed in the hospital. Cool
had multiple shots in the evening times. It was pretty
ill the bit I watched his entire kind of physical
physical stature shift and change, and so it was just
really difficult for my family and I to kind of
(27:43):
navigate this new sense of life in the way that
it looked. Fortunately for us, we were introduced to a
camp program that provides the camp experience for children who
have cancer in their siblings, and so that's really where
Cole and I were able to be with other people
(28:03):
who understood what it was like to be walking in
the shoes that we were walking in. For Cole to
be able to open up the doors and see other
kids with bald heads and other kids with ports, and
to have discussions over chemotherapy, treatment and oral medication, and
to talk about the realities in a safe space. For us,
(28:26):
it was just something I'll never forget. And then selfishly
for me to be around other siblings who knew what
it was like for mom and Dad not to be
able to make soccer practice or not be there to
pick you up after school. It was just this community
that could feel all the way that we felt a
lot of times, we found this an intense sense of
(28:49):
empathy at a time where our community was so incredible
to us, but they showed us so much sympathy, and
so for us, it just was it was a It
created these memories, It created these experiences at a time
where I felt like cancer took so much from us.
Speaker 6 (29:09):
It took my family away.
Speaker 5 (29:10):
From me, it took Cole being able to participate in
soccer and skateboarding and swimming and surfing. But camp, for us,
it gave us something. It gave us friendships, it gave
us so much more. And so we came back after
that week long overnight camp and would not be quiet.
Speaker 6 (29:32):
So Cole and I talked about it NonStop.
Speaker 5 (29:35):
And that's really where my family saw the benefit that
camp can make in a child's life.
Speaker 6 (29:41):
So my whole family got really involved.
Speaker 5 (29:43):
Unfortunately, about four months after that camp experience, Cole passed away.
But for us, once again, we were surrounded by this community,
this group, this family who knew what it was like
to be walking in the shoes that we were walking in.
And so that for us, maybe just an incredible impact
in our lives. Those counselors, those other campers are still
(30:07):
my best friends are still We're still in my wedding,
We're there through my child's first birthday. So it's just
been incredible to see the way that lifelong friendships can
really be birthed out of some pretty intense obstacles that
we have.
Speaker 6 (30:24):
To go overcome.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
Wow, that is some some story. What a uh I
mean talk about taking something so painful and so difficult
to even bear and you know, turning it into something
uh just kind of beautiful. And you know the thing
(30:47):
that I'm struck with. And when we talk about this
a lot with six degrees dot orger these kind of
grassroots movements because and I'm not I'm not you know,
saying this is not also this this would also be
something great to do. But you could also find have found,
you know, an organization pediatric cancer research or whatever it is,
(31:10):
and started to do you know, fundraising in your own community.
But in this case, you know, she took something that
was so important, so experiential to her and really really
personal and built something that is really really super personal,
(31:31):
you know, to her, And that's what was really kind
of so impressive about this.
Speaker 3 (31:37):
Yeah, I think that a lot of what she talked
about was connection, which we often talk about at six
degrees as well, and that need that we all have
for human connection. Yeah, and I think that when you're
in that like kind of coming of age time period
of your life, especially like eleven, twelve, thirteen years old,
(31:58):
a week it can't can feel like one of the
most life changing things that you've experienced to date.
Speaker 2 (32:07):
Right, you're away from.
Speaker 3 (32:08):
Your parents, you have some autonomy, you're with your peers,
you are learning to kind of navigate in the world
without that adult in your life being there telling you, you.
Speaker 1 (32:21):
Know nature, Yeah, sometimes it's your first yeah, disposure to nature.
Speaker 3 (32:26):
Oh, absolutely, absolutely, So yeah, a lot of friendships are
formed that way because they're experiencing that together. So yeah,
I think what they're doing is incredible. The other thing
that this camp does really well is how they structure
(32:48):
their camps so that kids that have similar lived experience
or similar disabilities are actually at camp at the same time,
so that they're around more children that they have like
this very unique experience with right, creating just more belonging.
Speaker 5 (33:14):
Camp Cole is actually located in Columbia, South Carolina. In
so we love our location. It's able to serve thousands
of children that really range from a very wide variety
of different critical illnesses and disabilities. So we get the opportunity,
(33:35):
and I say, we have the privilege to serve campers
who have real genetic disorders, part and kidney disease, children
experiencing homelessness, children who've experienced severe burns.
Speaker 6 (33:47):
So it is.
Speaker 5 (33:48):
Very incredible to be able to see the diversity that
we have the opportunity to give those those transformative experiences
that spark the joy year at camp. And so we
really at the nucleus of Camp Coal were really focused
on providing an experience that otherwise would not exist for
(34:11):
these populations. And so for us being able to give
a child with a very severe critical illness an opportunity
to catch a fish, or to play basketball, or to
get on the back of a horse to hold a chicken,
these are all little things that I feel like so much.
So we are so blessed with a good, clean health,
(34:35):
and so when.
Speaker 6 (34:36):
Something like this.
Speaker 5 (34:37):
Happens in your family or to a loved one, you're
really challenged to think about wait a minute, you know,
health is such so important to us and being healthy
and living healthy, active lifestyles. And so for us, Cole
was very active, loved being outdoors, loved team building activity,
(35:00):
and loved his peers and being social and that was
something that with the critical illness all his things, for us,
it became a lot harder.
Speaker 6 (35:11):
And so I really think back to.
Speaker 5 (35:14):
Being at a young age, at the age of thirteen
and when Cole was eleven, just really seeing the little
things in life that we take for granted and how
do you remember, and showed a great gratitude and appreciation
for them.
Speaker 1 (35:29):
That's beautiful. I mean, it's interesting because again this is
this isn't an example of someone that is taking something
super personal, like a super personal experience, and even taking
the details of that experience and shaping the the you know,
(35:51):
the foundation, the movement, the idea around those those very
very specific personal ideas. And you know, it is true that,
I mean, camp experience is not everybody get as the
luxury of having them, but can be you know, very profound,
even as you pointed out Stacey in a week and
(36:14):
I'm sure that there's also a lot of great impact
for the families surrounding the people that are the kids
that are going and you know, not just the not
just the kids, but the families that get a chance
to witness that or experienced that, or be able to
offer some kind of i don't know, respite from what
(36:40):
must be a really very challenging and difficult time.
Speaker 2 (36:45):
Oh yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 3 (36:47):
It had me reflecting a lot in my conversation with
Kelsey about what we take for granted all the time
when you have a kind of quote unquote clean bill
of health. And you know, I've talked about this a
little bit before, but my mom was legally blind and
she was in a car accident when I was eight,
and so it was, you know, just kind of a
(37:10):
cute accident. Then when she came out of the hospital,
you know, she everything changed about you know, she couldn't
you know, be a nurse anymore. And she wasn't able
just to jump in a car and drive to the
beach if she wanted to drive in the beach. I
mean little things like you know, being able to catch
something on your periphery right and being.
Speaker 2 (37:32):
Like, oh, there's a there's a dolphin over there, did
you see that? Just jump?
Speaker 3 (37:35):
It's like, there's no way she was ever going to
see things like that again. And I think when although
she wasn't a sibling, as a daughter, it had a
similar impact when you are growing up having to be
more aware of this person and create more space for
them and their needs. And it can be it can
(37:58):
be a lot, but it also can really help shape
you and make you passionate about you know, equal access
and accessibility and inclusion for those that are disabled and
are you know, do have ailments that we don't talk
about a lot in society, and so yeah, it's it's
(38:21):
just it sounds like a really beautiful space, camp Coal,
and I can only imagine that these kids are and
their siblings are having some of the best times of
their lives.
Speaker 1 (38:31):
Absolutely. Yeah, yeah, that's I'm so glad you reached out
to them.
Speaker 3 (38:37):
Yeah, it was let's tell you, it was a hard call.
I was like, I could not do this all the time.
It was very emotional, right, and I think, well.
Speaker 1 (38:48):
Kids of your own, no, I mean, you know, that's
that's that's when this kind of thing really starts to
really starts to hit you.
Speaker 3 (38:55):
Absolutely absolutely. And I've had friends that have lost their
their children as well from pediatric cancer, and so yeah,
I think about Abigail and Eloise and I think about
what you would do as a parent. But such an
inspiring story, and we're going to make sure that people
(39:16):
know exactly where they can learn and help Camp Coal
and Kelsey's work further with a great call to action.
Speaker 5 (39:28):
Our call to action for Camp Coal would be for
people to get involved be a part of our team.
Follow us on social media. Camp Coal at Camp Cole,
South Carolina. Our website is campcol dot org. It is
not inexpensive to send these campers to camp. While they're
out here, we don't get to just say, wait a minute,
(39:50):
let's stop treatment for a week. Let's stop your medical
treatment plan for a week.
Speaker 6 (39:56):
We have to do We rock on.
Speaker 5 (39:58):
Even at camp, so we're really quickly administering the medication
and getting them back out to having fun. And so
that cost is something that prohibits some of our campers
to have this experience. So financial donations means such a
great deal to us. We're big on Amazon wish List
and getting those you know, the band aids, the bug spray,
(40:22):
all the fun different sports falls out here to Camp Goal.
So those are all different ways that you can really
help and be a part.
Speaker 6 (40:30):
Of our team.
Speaker 1 (40:31):
Stacy like I said, I'm so happy that you reach
out to Kelsey and shared, and Kelsey and shared. Thank
you so much for coming on and sharing your story
and telling us about the camp. Uh, it's it's it's incredible.
What's what what you guys are doing there and you
should be very proud of this work. And as everybody heard, uh,
(40:52):
those are there's ways that you could help. There's ways
that you can reach out and things that you can do.
I can tell you. Let me just tell you a
funny camp story. Well you can decide if it's funny
or not. When I was in camp what it has
to do with things of a charitable nature. When I
was in camp, every year at this camp, they would
(41:13):
do this thing called the fund and campers would either
pick blueberries or strawberries. It was kind of like a
work camp, and or they would forego a meal. They
would do different things that would raise money for a
specific fund that the money that these campers, either from
(41:38):
giving up or from working, we're going to donate each year.
And then campers would pick a particular fund and do
a little research on it to the extent that you
could I don't even know how you could research something
where we were out. There was no computers. Obviously, this
we're talking about the I don't know, probably late sixties
(41:59):
or seventies, and and and then they would make a
presentation for this fund to the camp body and everybody
in the camp would vote, and then the winner of
that vote would get the money that the campers raised
that year. So the year that I was there, and
(42:20):
let me just say generally, it was you know, Save
the Whales, Save in the Redwoods Unise, you know, charities
like that. I decided that we should raise money for
the Black Panthers, and so I I stood up in
front of the camp body because at that time, you know,
the Panthers were doing you know, they had this breakfast
(42:43):
program that was you know, very popular. They were doing
a lot of you know stuff. And I stood up
in front of the camp body and then, you know,
I said, okay, folks, this is this is why I
think that the money should go to the Black Panthers.
And we won the vot vote. But here's the hilarious thing,
(43:04):
and this taught me a lot about the world. All
of a sudden, the people that ran the camp just
freaked out. They were like, we can't give the money
to the Black Bess. I said, you have to. We
won the vote, and it went back and forth, and
this this big argument. They had no problem with me
presenting it, but once it actually won, all of a
(43:25):
sudden they went, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, this can't happen.
And so the compromise, which I was very unhappy with.
But you know what was I going to do I
was eleven years old, was that the money would be
divided between for the four charities that were presented. So
(43:45):
in the summer of whatever this was in nineteen seventy
one or this is in nineteen seventy there was probably
a check for about twelve dollars and thirty five cents
that presumably came from Camp Tree Tops to the Black Panthers.
Speaker 3 (44:04):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (44:06):
Well, there you go. That's that's my camp story and listen.
Thanks thanks for checking this out. See you next time.
Hey send us some questions and we will hopefully respond
to ask Kevin almost anything. Thanks, thanks, thanks.
Speaker 3 (44:33):
If you are inspired by today's episode, please join us
in supporting six degrees dot org by texting the word
Bacon to seven zero seven zero seven zero. Your gift
empowers us to continue to produce programs that highlight the
incredible work of everyday heroes, well also enabling us to
provide essential resources to those that need it the most.
Once again, text B A C N to seven zero
(44:58):
seven zero seven zero, or visit six degrees dot org
to learn more
Hey, folks, We're back for another the second episode of
Ask Kevin Almost Anything. This is our second one. I mean,
the idea is that people have written in and reached
out and said, you know, we got some questions that
we're wondering, and so we look through and we decide
(00:22):
what would be fun to respond to it, and we'll
see how this goes. I am joined now by the
executive director of six Degrees dot Org Stacy Houston, who
(00:42):
is awesome and I concur yeah, and who's a little
tired because she saw Madonna last night, but has decided
to rally today and coy and join me here in
Ask Kevin Almost Anything.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
I stays, Hi, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
If Madonna can do it, I can do it. I'm inspired.
That's for sure.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
Good idea, good idea. She's something amazing. It really is.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Talk about a show.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
I don't think I've ever seen Madonna alive. I think
that it probably didn't quite line up with my age,
and then I don't know. For some reason, I just
that that's a show that I never saw, but it
must be incredible.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
It was really incredible.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
It was a pretty diverse audience for sure, But I
think that, yeah, she put on on one hell of
a show called the Celebration Tour. So it's kind of
like all all of her music throughout the year, so
something for everyone.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
I think a lot of young people there, yeah, I.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Think so and not so young. I mean she's sixty five.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Is my age, same age as Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
Yeah, but she was definitely it was very theatrical, so
I think similarly to a lot of the you know,
the bigger pop stars of today, Like she's still moving
around that stage and telling a story and a lot
of actual social impact stuff, right, A lot of things
that she talked about through her music that she kind
(02:20):
of highlighted with the stage design and the sets and
those sorts of things, especially around like the LGBTQ community
and the HIV crisis of the eighties and things like that.
So it was powerful. It was really really cool.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Yeah, it's funny you bring that up, because when you
really think about it, she was really there is an
element of UH pop female pop stars who you know,
have sort of empowered the various sometimes unrecognized factions of
(02:59):
their uh their audience and given them a voice and
support in ways. And I think she really was one
of the first. I mean, you know, followed certainly by
Gaga and now you know Tailor and Beyonce, and you know,
(03:19):
it's like you you you you go beyond just making
the music and and even beyond just having the adoration
of of your fans, but you actually are are trying
to support people to you know, kind of be who
they are, you know, Harry Styles and you know, it's
it's interesting, but but Donna was really sort of a
(03:40):
you know, a pioneer in that way. I think that
you know, in music, a lot of the early rock
stars and the idea was that you just you were
kind of trying to keep it distance. That was kind
of part of what rock and roll was that you
were this sort of distant, you know, kind of persona
and and not necessarily you were more kind of speaking
(04:02):
two people than speaking four people. So I think I
think it's interesting that she was early in that that movement.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
Yeah, and it definitely I think probably inspired those that
came after her, right for sure, Yeah, to not squander
that opportunity, Yeah, and definitely not shy away from it
because she's bold now. But I can only imagine when
she started, you know, forty years ago. Yeah, that was
like a moment.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
So well, I first saw her in Uh, oh gosh,
whatlder that movie? I feel like maybe it was a
Jonathan Demi movie. I'm trying to she had a small part.
Oh boy, what was it? And but she was it
was you know, a lot of it was like her
kind of singular style and the look and her you know,
(04:54):
just she's attitude. You know, she was just kind of badass. Anyway,
this is the Madonna, So.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
Yeah, she deserves her own episode.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
Thank you, Madonna for letting us just riff on you
for a little bit.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
Well let me read the first question. How's that? Since
this is called ask Kevin almost anything? Uh, this is
from CHRISA And she says, Hi, Kevin, I'm from food Bank,
Victoria in Australia. Love what you do. I was wondering
if you have any budget type recipes that we can
share with our folks. I just thought it could be
(05:30):
a fun thing to do. Oh yeah, if you have
any other ideas. I know you help so many people already,
but I thought it was worth asking. Cheers Chris. Okay,
so when she's talking about budget type recipes, I can
tell you that one of our favorite things that we make,
(05:52):
when you know, a lot of times will be thinking, well,
what are we going to do tonight? What are we
going to get? You know, cures very big on like
finding new recipes. You know, she does searches and follows things,
and I'm a little bit more, you know, just kind
of improvisational. But you know, it's usually we have some
(06:13):
kind of big idea and every once in a while
we want to stay in but we're out of big
ideas and we've we have a short handle. We'd just
go pantry and she says yes, and I say pantry, yeah,
And it's really pantry pasta is what it is. So
(06:34):
you generally have lying around at least a couple of
clothes of garlic or an onion. And then that's always
like the basis for anything, right, any any any thing
that's worth eating, It starts with it, you know, some
garlic or some onion. So you you put that in
(06:57):
the pan and you start you like, so I tell
you that, and then you open up the pantry and
you see what's in there. And so it could be
a can of tomatoes, it could be a lot of ours.
Is like a can of tomatoes we get opened up,
a can of tuna we throw in some you know,
(07:21):
whatever kind of herbs you have, we're lying around and
even if they're dried, you know, some regular basically you
just make a sauce, add a little bit of wine,
something has to be, you know, make it liquid enough,
and then you make some pasta and you put it
on and that's pantry pasta. We've we've oftentimes have a
(07:44):
lot of people have some capers lying around, some olives
lying around, some you know. I mean, it sounds it
sounds like I'm just making something from garbage, but it
really is is these are all things that will keep forever. Yeah,
And that's that's what we do Petripasta.
Speaker 3 (08:02):
So this kind of reminds me of this woman that
I met recently and feeling pretty bad right now that
her name is escaping me. But she has an Instagram
page and she I don't know if she's coined this,
but she does this thing called shelf Timber where it's
like in September she challenges everybody to only use fifty
(08:27):
dollars a week for groceries. I think she's a pretty
large family. I think she has like six or seven
kids something like that. Well, so I think this might
help Chris's community as well, you know, and they are
challenged to use only what's in the pantry on their
shelves for this whole month, and then they can buy like,
(08:51):
you know, chicken or some of those additive type things
to round out a meal with the fifty dollars. And
it's a way that they save up for the holidays
that are quickly approaching. Right, So it's like we're gonna
eat in, We're gonna just clear out our pantry because,
like you said, I mean, have you ever got I mean,
(09:12):
this is my experience. I'd go to my mom's house
and I would go into her pantry and I would
see something from like two thousand and and four, and
I'm like ah, and I'm like, like, you're what It's
like a can of olives and You're like, hey, I'm
pretty sure this is expired. And she's like it's fine.
I'm like, no, Like, I don't think you should eat this.
(09:34):
Like there has to be some reason why we can't
just keep things forever, you know, But.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
Can't you eat a two thousand and four tour Alli?
I don't know. I think I probably would. I'm embarrassed
to say I don't really check the labels that often
although my mother she uh, well, first off, she wasn't
a good cook. Nobody likes to say that about their
mother once. My mother was a bit, but my mother
(10:00):
was a terrible cook. Let's face it. She had six kids. Yeah,
And and she was kind of often doing what it
is that talking about just kind of you know, finding
some stuff and whipping something up. I mean, I think
that we're a lot better at making it taste good.
Speaker 3 (10:20):
But she wasn't as good as improvising as you're saying.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
No, And she would she would take things and she
didn't believe she's very much ahead of her time in
terms of this, but she didn't believe in like single
use plastic. And and so she would just take food
and just put it in a bowl and just stick
it in the refrigerator and sometimes it would sit there
for a couple of weeks. And that that's the stuff
(10:44):
that I was like not not going near in a
case something that was actually vacuum fact or sealed. I'm
okay with it. And you know, I'll tell you something
interesting in terms of like, as we know, fresh food
often goes hand and often people who have food insecurity,
it becomes very hard for them to find fresh food.
(11:04):
There aren't places that actually have you know, fresh produce.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
There are in food deserts often, yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
Food deserts. Yeah. But one thing that is true, and
I'm not a nutritionist, but I can tell you that
I recently read an article which was had to do
with which was written by you know, smarter people that
me scientists saying these are the things that we wish
people would stop believing in terms of food nutrition, and
(11:33):
one of them was that canned fruits and vegetables are nutritionous, nutritional.
They You can have a frozen or canned or frozen
fruits and vegetables, if they contained a whole ton of
sugar like that's added, then possibly that's you know, going
(11:57):
to you're gonna have to kind of keep an eye
on that. But if you're talking about a can of
peas or or or a bag of spinach that's been frozen,
these are that you don't lose any nutritional value from
from vegetables when they're when they're frozen or can Apparently
it's some yeah, and in some cases it's actually they
actually have more vehements and minerals than they do if
(12:20):
you cook them down and cook them fresh. So when
I when I learned that, I said, well, that's really
that's interesting because it it means that if there are
things that are on shelves that people can get, you know,
some good nutritional value from those from those fruits and vegetables. Anyway,
good question.
Speaker 3 (12:40):
Yeah, definitely, all right. Question number two do you want
to read it?
Speaker 4 (12:49):
Coup?
Speaker 1 (12:50):
Okay? This is from Rebecca Graham. Kevin, you with your
wonderful family are so special? A question for you? Would
you do Footloose too? U? Footloose too has been done?
Speaker 5 (13:06):
Has it?
Speaker 4 (13:06):
Though?
Speaker 3 (13:07):
I thought it was like a remake, you know, like, well,
what's your right?
Speaker 1 (13:11):
I mean, I feel your foot.
Speaker 3 (13:13):
Loose two would be like a sequel like you are now, John,
let's go.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
And I'm not banning dancing, not.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
Your banning dancing.
Speaker 3 (13:22):
But you know, like you're older, you've raised your own
your kids are are in high school, right, like I
feel like that's the sequel, right, like it's your son right.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
Never say never. I think it would be a disaster.
It's funny because they they made countless Friday the thirteenth,
you know, when I was in the very first Friday
the thirteenth. Then they remake Footlosts and they remade Flatliners,
and then I decided that they're just remaking all the
movies that I was in the beginning with F. So
(13:57):
if I do another movie that becaus with F will
probably probably, I don't know.
Speaker 3 (14:02):
You know, a few good men, let's not.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
Few good men? There you go, there you go? Well
that actually they're they're doing that too. No, yeah, I
think so that.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
Just makes me angry. Just leave well enough alone.
Speaker 3 (14:15):
No, seriously, I have a couple things like Dirty Dancing, obviously, especially.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
In my generation, that is like a classic. You watch it.
I watched it to death.
Speaker 3 (14:25):
I watched it so many times I could quote most
lines from that movie. They remade it, right, they did
a kind of part two Dirty Dancing Havanah Knights or
something like oh yeah, right right right, no offense who
everyone was in it. But no, it was not Just
leave leave them alone. If they ever try to remake Breakfast.
Speaker 2 (14:45):
Club, oh, I will start.
Speaker 3 (14:48):
A petition like, wow, is that one of your favorites?
That's my my yearbook quote? Was you know that closing
line of the movie, No, I doubt which of us
are a princess? A brain? The act of you know
a criminal and an outcast or.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
Something like that.
Speaker 3 (15:10):
Someone that loves that movie is actually really angry with
me right now.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
They're like, you don't love that.
Speaker 3 (15:14):
Movie this is the quote, but it shouldn't be remade.
But I feel like those are the types of movies
that are yeah, like on the chopping block, someone's going
to try to remake it.
Speaker 1 (15:27):
M I may yeah, yeah, Yeah. It's a funny thing
with remakes because I kind of agree with you. There
is something about let's just leave well enough alone unless
there's really a really kind of fresh idea. But the
other piece of it is that in our business, everyone
wants intellectual property and wants to, you know, revisit intellectual property.
(15:52):
That being said, you know, I'm in Beverly Hills Cop four,
and I think that's actually going to be really fun movie.
I think I think it had Top Gun, you know,
when they redid Top Gun recently, you know, or I
mean so anyway, I don't know what the story would
be for Footloose. It would have to be you know. Actually,
(16:17):
they actually offered me a part in the second, you know,
in the remake of Yeah it was terrible. The part was,
and I was like, why would I be in this playing.
It doesn't make any sense. Like it doesn't. It just
doesn't make any sense here. I'm not I'm not really understanding.
(16:38):
So anyway, they I said, no, they didn't. They didn't
miss me. Actually I thought I thought the dancing was
incredible in that movie. Yet the second one was in
a lot of ways a lot better than what we did.
But anyway, thanks for that question.
Speaker 3 (16:54):
And awesome, so we have a the special next question. Actually,
I received a note from Sharon Sawyer and Sharon was
writing in about her niece and her niece Kelsey, who
will hear about it because we have some audio clips
(17:17):
to play. But in short, Kelsey has had a really
has gone through some pretty hard circumstances. Right, So she
lost her brother to cancer when she was a kid
and he was a kid, and then in her early
twenties she lost her mother.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
And she was one of.
Speaker 3 (17:37):
These people who basically stared at grief and decided to
use it to fuel her to create pretty incredible impact
through starting a nonprofit. And so I read this note
that we had submitted and I just thought, I.
Speaker 2 (17:57):
Need to call Sharon. I want to talk to her.
Speaker 3 (17:59):
I want to, you know, hear her voice and hear
her talk about Kelsey and then following up with Kelsey
as well. So I want to share a clip from
that conversation with Sharon Sawyer where she really talks about
her niece, Kelsey's story and what she's done over the
last few years. So we're going to play that clip now.
Speaker 4 (18:21):
My niece Kelsey took tragedy, you know a lot of
tragedy in her life and turned it into something really
really good. Kelsey and her brother went to camp when
they were children. And when they went to camp, he
was eleven and she was thirteen, and it was a
pediatric cancer camp that.
Speaker 6 (18:40):
Is held locally.
Speaker 4 (18:41):
It was what everyone came to say Cole, her brother,
Cole's best week of his life. And she loved it
there too because they had siblings of children with cancer
there as well, and it was just a place you
could be yourself and you could be around other people
that had cancer.
Speaker 7 (19:01):
And her mother, Stacy was very, very.
Speaker 4 (19:04):
Involved with this camp after Cole passed away, and Stacey
became president of the local.
Speaker 7 (19:13):
Foundation that runs his camp and just had a huge
passion for it.
Speaker 4 (19:18):
Kelsey, as well as my children and a lot of
people in our family, all worked at.
Speaker 7 (19:24):
This camp retreat, you know, every year when it would come.
Speaker 8 (19:27):
But the biggest need they had was a facility or
a place that they could hold it that was safe,
that was like ADH eighty eight approved, close to the
local hospital. It just there was not a facility or
a place to do this locally, and so they were
taking children to the upstate and it was just a
(19:48):
long distance if someone got happened to get sick, you know,
the week of the thing. But Kelsey and all my
Kelsey became just very passionate as every counselor for Camp
Chemo ends up getting for the children.
Speaker 7 (20:02):
And that's where kind of it, that's kind of.
Speaker 4 (20:05):
What drove her to try to help build this retreat
center that her mother dreamed of years ago.
Speaker 7 (20:11):
After her mother had passed away.
Speaker 4 (20:14):
You know, when her mother passed away, they immediately, I
mean it was very suddenly when her mother passed away,
they immediately started a foundation named after Kelsey and I
mean named after Cole and Stacy and then with the
idea that they would possibly donate it to a camp
or build a camp. And the next thing you knew,
(20:34):
they were flying with it, and Kelsey and others in
the community decided to support this idea and build Camp Coal.
Speaker 6 (20:42):
And how much did they end up raising to build
Camp Coal.
Speaker 7 (20:47):
The initial.
Speaker 4 (20:50):
The initial capital campaign was nine million dollars and they
achieved that in under two years. When you're starting from
grassroots and nothing thing, it takes a lot to get
to that place. And there's a local family that was
just very instrumental in this.
Speaker 7 (21:08):
They bought the Fawcett family bought.
Speaker 4 (21:12):
The land that was donated to Camp Cole, which is
forty acres and they donated it to Camp Cole and
they bought it for this purpose. Their daughter too, was
a counselor at Camp Chemo and understood what it meant
for these children to be at camp for a.
Speaker 7 (21:27):
Week, and so you know, it started rolling from there.
Speaker 4 (21:32):
Those were friends of the family and friends at Kelsey
and her Dad's got new and they believed in the
dream and helped them a long way to get it
rolling on.
Speaker 3 (21:43):
You know, Kevin, when you first started six Degrees, did
you ever think about, like how difficult that fundraising piece is,
Because like when I hear that nine million dollars, that
is a ton two days in two years, amazing, It's incredible.
Speaker 1 (22:01):
Yeah, it's amazing. It's that is a that is a
lot of money. Yeah, and and and it's something that
I honestly I still you know, I still kind of
struggle with a little bit. You know, obviously if you
if you're if you're doing well, you're going to be
(22:23):
on the other end of people asking for money, you know,
a lot. And I think that, uh, you know, what
people do with their money and how much of it
they give away or or don't. You know, it's a
very private, very personal kind of decision. I mean I
(22:44):
think that uh, you know sometimes you know when when
people I'm sure there's people that like this family, that
that go out and just say, okay, I'm just gonna
buy this this, you know, forty acres for for these people,
and they probably do it quietly and aren't really you know,
looking for a big pad on the back. And that
(23:04):
there's people that publicly, you know, will donate you'll hear
about it, you know, donate millions of dollars to something.
And and I think those are both really really super
valid ways in order to to uh to you know,
spend your money or or or donate. I don't I
don't pass a judgment on either one. Of those things,
either saying privately or being public about it. But I
(23:26):
do know that it's it's not in my nature to
ask people for money. It's just for some reason, it's
it's not I've always found a little bit uncomfortable. We've
talked about the fact that, you know, I never really
wanted to do sort of typical fundraisers, you know, uh,
(23:47):
rubber chicken dinners and you know, auctions and that whole
that whole way of you know, working with with charity.
But it is a it's that's just the way it
I mean, that's there. There's no way around it. So
to answer your question, I didn't know how difficult it
was going to be, and but I did know that
it was going to be something that I was not
(24:09):
going to, you know, feel all that you know, comfortable
with in my situation. Also, there's this other piece of
it I think if you know too truthfully, which is
people can look at something like asking for a donation
and I'll say, well, why don't you just you know,
(24:29):
why don't you just pay for it? You know? But
I think this is really this is impressive that in
that amount of time that they're nowhere, where is this.
Speaker 2 (24:38):
Camp by the way, it's in South Carolina.
Speaker 3 (24:41):
South Carolina m H And yeah, no, it's incredible, And
she touched on a couple of things in there that
I think were really powerful, and it actually ties back
to your point that you just made. I think sometimes
when there's a celebrity that's like a founder of an organization,
it can be even more difficult because of that very reason.
People are like, well, why don't you just like solve
world hunger yourself?
Speaker 1 (25:01):
Right?
Speaker 3 (25:03):
But the key that makes I think Kelsey's organization Camp
Coal and Sharing story so powerful is that all these
people were touched by the work of Camp Chemo, which
was this earlier camp that they experienced as kids, and
they were so touched by it because they saw the
way it impacted their loved ones and their niece and
(25:24):
nephew that attended it, and then family members got engaged
and other community members got engaged. And I think that
that's the key. It's like, if there was just one
source of throw money at it, it actually doesn't do
anything right. You actually need people to be inspired, yeah,
to have skin in the game and to roll up
(25:44):
their sleeves and want to stand like shoulder shoulder with
you on this work right, because it's not just money
to build something like to operate something like this, which
they'll get into. It's an immense undertaking and I just
think it's is so incredible to think that, especially a
young woman that was, you know, facing that type of heartache,
(26:08):
was able to turn that into something so inspiring. I
want to play a little bit more from my conversation
with Kelsey, because I got a chance to reach out
to Kelsey, who is a dolt, just as Sharon braved
about her niece, I'm just so so so kind, and
(26:30):
she shared a little bit about you know who she
is and who Camp Cole was named after, and you
know why she started it. So let's play that clip now.
Speaker 5 (26:42):
My name is Kelsey Sawyer Cole and Camp Cole is
a camp for children, teams, and adults with illnesses, disabilities.
Speaker 6 (26:50):
And life changes.
Speaker 5 (26:53):
Camp Cole really started and was birthed out of a
place of pure love, joy and excitement.
Speaker 6 (27:00):
So Camp Quoe really came.
Speaker 5 (27:01):
About because at the age of eleven and I was
thirteen at the time, I had a younger brother who
was diagnosed with a really rare form of cancer, rapdomyasar coma,
and so with that diagnosis, we really saw our normalcy
in our daily lives kind of be flipped upside down.
Speaker 6 (27:21):
And so for.
Speaker 5 (27:21):
Us, you know, days were packed in the hospital. Cool
had multiple shots in the evening times. It was pretty
ill the bit I watched his entire kind of physical
physical stature shift and change, and so it was just
really difficult for my family and I to kind of
(27:43):
navigate this new sense of life in the way that
it looked. Fortunately for us, we were introduced to a
camp program that provides the camp experience for children who
have cancer in their siblings, and so that's really where
Cole and I were able to be with other people
(28:03):
who understood what it was like to be walking in
the shoes that we were walking in. For Cole to
be able to open up the doors and see other
kids with bald heads and other kids with ports, and
to have discussions over chemotherapy, treatment and oral medication, and
to talk about the realities in a safe space. For us,
(28:26):
it was just something I'll never forget. And then selfishly
for me to be around other siblings who knew what
it was like for mom and Dad not to be
able to make soccer practice or not be there to
pick you up after school. It was just this community
that could feel all the way that we felt a
lot of times, we found this an intense sense of
(28:49):
empathy at a time where our community was so incredible
to us, but they showed us so much sympathy, and
so for us, it just was it was a It
created these memories, It created these experiences at a time
where I felt like cancer took so much from us.
Speaker 6 (29:09):
It took my family away.
Speaker 5 (29:10):
From me, it took Cole being able to participate in
soccer and skateboarding and swimming and surfing. But camp, for us,
it gave us something. It gave us friendships, it gave
us so much more. And so we came back after
that week long overnight camp and would not be quiet.
Speaker 6 (29:32):
So Cole and I talked about it NonStop.
Speaker 5 (29:35):
And that's really where my family saw the benefit that
camp can make in a child's life.
Speaker 6 (29:41):
So my whole family got really involved.
Speaker 5 (29:43):
Unfortunately, about four months after that camp experience, Cole passed away.
But for us, once again, we were surrounded by this community,
this group, this family who knew what it was like
to be walking in the shoes that we were walking in.
And so that for us, maybe just an incredible impact
in our lives. Those counselors, those other campers are still
(30:07):
my best friends are still We're still in my wedding,
We're there through my child's first birthday. So it's just
been incredible to see the way that lifelong friendships can
really be birthed out of some pretty intense obstacles that
we have.
Speaker 6 (30:24):
To go overcome.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
Wow, that is some some story. What a uh I
mean talk about taking something so painful and so difficult
to even bear and you know, turning it into something
uh just kind of beautiful. And you know the thing
(30:47):
that I'm struck with. And when we talk about this
a lot with six degrees dot orger these kind of
grassroots movements because and I'm not I'm not you know,
saying this is not also this this would also be
something great to do. But you could also find have found,
you know, an organization pediatric cancer research or whatever it is,
(31:10):
and started to do you know, fundraising in your own community.
But in this case, you know, she took something that
was so important, so experiential to her and really really
personal and built something that is really really super personal,
(31:31):
you know, to her, And that's what was really kind
of so impressive about this.
Speaker 3 (31:37):
Yeah, I think that a lot of what she talked
about was connection, which we often talk about at six
degrees as well, and that need that we all have
for human connection. Yeah, and I think that when you're
in that like kind of coming of age time period
of your life, especially like eleven, twelve, thirteen years old,
(31:58):
a week it can't can feel like one of the
most life changing things that you've experienced to date.
Speaker 2 (32:07):
Right, you're away from.
Speaker 3 (32:08):
Your parents, you have some autonomy, you're with your peers,
you are learning to kind of navigate in the world
without that adult in your life being there telling you, you.
Speaker 1 (32:21):
Know nature, Yeah, sometimes it's your first yeah, disposure to nature.
Speaker 3 (32:26):
Oh, absolutely, absolutely, So yeah, a lot of friendships are
formed that way because they're experiencing that together. So yeah,
I think what they're doing is incredible. The other thing
that this camp does really well is how they structure
(32:48):
their camps so that kids that have similar lived experience
or similar disabilities are actually at camp at the same time,
so that they're around more children that they have like
this very unique experience with right, creating just more belonging.
Speaker 5 (33:14):
Camp Cole is actually located in Columbia, South Carolina. In
so we love our location. It's able to serve thousands
of children that really range from a very wide variety
of different critical illnesses and disabilities. So we get the opportunity,
(33:35):
and I say, we have the privilege to serve campers
who have real genetic disorders, part and kidney disease, children
experiencing homelessness, children who've experienced severe burns.
Speaker 6 (33:47):
So it is.
Speaker 5 (33:48):
Very incredible to be able to see the diversity that
we have the opportunity to give those those transformative experiences
that spark the joy year at camp. And so we
really at the nucleus of Camp Coal were really focused
on providing an experience that otherwise would not exist for
(34:11):
these populations. And so for us being able to give
a child with a very severe critical illness an opportunity
to catch a fish, or to play basketball, or to
get on the back of a horse to hold a chicken,
these are all little things that I feel like so much.
So we are so blessed with a good, clean health,
(34:35):
and so when.
Speaker 6 (34:36):
Something like this.
Speaker 5 (34:37):
Happens in your family or to a loved one, you're
really challenged to think about wait a minute, you know,
health is such so important to us and being healthy
and living healthy, active lifestyles. And so for us, Cole
was very active, loved being outdoors, loved team building activity,
(35:00):
and loved his peers and being social and that was
something that with the critical illness all his things, for us,
it became a lot harder.
Speaker 6 (35:11):
And so I really think back to.
Speaker 5 (35:14):
Being at a young age, at the age of thirteen
and when Cole was eleven, just really seeing the little
things in life that we take for granted and how
do you remember, and showed a great gratitude and appreciation
for them.
Speaker 1 (35:29):
That's beautiful. I mean, it's interesting because again this is
this isn't an example of someone that is taking something
super personal, like a super personal experience, and even taking
the details of that experience and shaping the the you know,
(35:51):
the foundation, the movement, the idea around those those very
very specific personal ideas. And you know, it is true that,
I mean, camp experience is not everybody get as the
luxury of having them, but can be you know, very profound,
even as you pointed out Stacey in a week and
(36:14):
I'm sure that there's also a lot of great impact
for the families surrounding the people that are the kids
that are going and you know, not just the not
just the kids, but the families that get a chance
to witness that or experienced that, or be able to
offer some kind of i don't know, respite from what
(36:40):
must be a really very challenging and difficult time.
Speaker 2 (36:45):
Oh yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 3 (36:47):
It had me reflecting a lot in my conversation with
Kelsey about what we take for granted all the time
when you have a kind of quote unquote clean bill
of health. And you know, I've talked about this a
little bit before, but my mom was legally blind and
she was in a car accident when I was eight,
and so it was, you know, just kind of a
(37:10):
cute accident. Then when she came out of the hospital,
you know, she everything changed about you know, she couldn't
you know, be a nurse anymore. And she wasn't able
just to jump in a car and drive to the
beach if she wanted to drive in the beach. I
mean little things like you know, being able to catch
something on your periphery right and being.
Speaker 2 (37:32):
Like, oh, there's a there's a dolphin over there, did
you see that? Just jump?
Speaker 3 (37:35):
It's like, there's no way she was ever going to
see things like that again. And I think when although
she wasn't a sibling, as a daughter, it had a
similar impact when you are growing up having to be
more aware of this person and create more space for
them and their needs. And it can be it can
(37:58):
be a lot, but it also can really help shape
you and make you passionate about you know, equal access
and accessibility and inclusion for those that are disabled and
are you know, do have ailments that we don't talk
about a lot in society, and so yeah, it's it's
(38:21):
just it sounds like a really beautiful space, camp Coal,
and I can only imagine that these kids are and
their siblings are having some of the best times of
their lives.
Speaker 1 (38:31):
Absolutely. Yeah, yeah, that's I'm so glad you reached out
to them.
Speaker 3 (38:37):
Yeah, it was let's tell you, it was a hard call.
I was like, I could not do this all the time.
It was very emotional, right, and I think, well.
Speaker 1 (38:48):
Kids of your own, no, I mean, you know, that's
that's that's when this kind of thing really starts to
really starts to hit you.
Speaker 3 (38:55):
Absolutely absolutely. And I've had friends that have lost their
their children as well from pediatric cancer, and so yeah,
I think about Abigail and Eloise and I think about
what you would do as a parent. But such an
inspiring story, and we're going to make sure that people
(39:16):
know exactly where they can learn and help Camp Coal
and Kelsey's work further with a great call to action.
Speaker 5 (39:28):
Our call to action for Camp Coal would be for
people to get involved be a part of our team.
Follow us on social media. Camp Coal at Camp Cole,
South Carolina. Our website is campcol dot org. It is
not inexpensive to send these campers to camp. While they're
out here, we don't get to just say, wait a minute,
(39:50):
let's stop treatment for a week. Let's stop your medical
treatment plan for a week.
Speaker 6 (39:56):
We have to do We rock on.
Speaker 5 (39:58):
Even at camp, so we're really quickly administering the medication
and getting them back out to having fun. And so
that cost is something that prohibits some of our campers
to have this experience. So financial donations means such a
great deal to us. We're big on Amazon wish List
and getting those you know, the band aids, the bug spray,
(40:22):
all the fun different sports falls out here to Camp Goal.
So those are all different ways that you can really
help and be a part.
Speaker 6 (40:30):
Of our team.
Speaker 1 (40:31):
Stacy like I said, I'm so happy that you reach
out to Kelsey and shared, and Kelsey and shared. Thank
you so much for coming on and sharing your story
and telling us about the camp. Uh, it's it's it's incredible.
What's what what you guys are doing there and you
should be very proud of this work. And as everybody heard, uh,
(40:52):
those are there's ways that you could help. There's ways
that you can reach out and things that you can do.
I can tell you. Let me just tell you a
funny camp story. Well you can decide if it's funny
or not. When I was in camp what it has
to do with things of a charitable nature. When I
was in camp, every year at this camp, they would
(41:13):
do this thing called the fund and campers would either
pick blueberries or strawberries. It was kind of like a
work camp, and or they would forego a meal. They
would do different things that would raise money for a
specific fund that the money that these campers, either from
(41:38):
giving up or from working, we're going to donate each year.
And then campers would pick a particular fund and do
a little research on it to the extent that you
could I don't even know how you could research something
where we were out. There was no computers. Obviously, this
we're talking about the I don't know, probably late sixties
(41:59):
or seventies, and and and then they would make a
presentation for this fund to the camp body and everybody
in the camp would vote, and then the winner of
that vote would get the money that the campers raised
that year. So the year that I was there, and
(42:20):
let me just say generally, it was you know, Save
the Whales, Save in the Redwoods Unise, you know, charities
like that. I decided that we should raise money for
the Black Panthers, and so I I stood up in
front of the camp body because at that time, you know,
the Panthers were doing you know, they had this breakfast
(42:43):
program that was you know, very popular. They were doing
a lot of you know stuff. And I stood up
in front of the camp body and then, you know,
I said, okay, folks, this is this is why I
think that the money should go to the Black Panthers.
And we won the vot vote. But here's the hilarious thing,
(43:04):
and this taught me a lot about the world. All
of a sudden, the people that ran the camp just
freaked out. They were like, we can't give the money
to the Black Bess. I said, you have to. We
won the vote, and it went back and forth, and
this this big argument. They had no problem with me
presenting it, but once it actually won, all of a
(43:25):
sudden they went, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, this can't happen.
And so the compromise, which I was very unhappy with.
But you know what was I going to do I
was eleven years old, was that the money would be
divided between for the four charities that were presented. So
(43:45):
in the summer of whatever this was in nineteen seventy
one or this is in nineteen seventy there was probably
a check for about twelve dollars and thirty five cents
that presumably came from Camp Tree Tops to the Black Panthers.
Speaker 3 (44:04):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (44:06):
Well, there you go. That's that's my camp story and listen.
Thanks thanks for checking this out. See you next time.
Hey send us some questions and we will hopefully respond
to ask Kevin almost anything. Thanks, thanks, thanks.
Speaker 3 (44:33):
If you are inspired by today's episode, please join us
in supporting six degrees dot org by texting the word
Bacon to seven zero seven zero seven zero. Your gift
empowers us to continue to produce programs that highlight the
incredible work of everyday heroes, well also enabling us to
provide essential resources to those that need it the most.
Once again, text B A C N to seven zero
(44:58):
seven zero seven zero, or visit six degrees dot org
to learn more
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com