Camp AmeriKids absorbs longtime volunteer . . . and family

AmeriCares Foundation
Friday, 23 August 2002

Isabelle Reilly's extraordinary volunteerism at AmeriCares has developed into an extended commitment to Camp AmeriKids by other members of her family.

Her grandson Andrew (Drew) Whitcup of Brooklyn, NY, her daughter Kate of Rowayton, CT and Drew's father Jonathan, also of Rowayton, are all counselors at the camp, this year two sessions, Aug. 9-18 and Aug. 20-29, at the Green Acres Conference Center of the New York Missions Society in Dover Plains, NY.

"They all think it's cool," says Reilly, the matriarch.

Paige Granger, assistant director of the camp, describes the family as "dedicated to the project" and adds: "It's wonderful to see them all work together with a common resolve."

Drew Whitcup, his interest in volunteerism piqued by his grandma's work in the products department at AmeriCares in New Canaan, was the first family member to associate himself with the camp, a year after it was established in 1995 to give a week-long carefree experience in the outdoors to inner-city youngsters affected by HIV/AIDS and other life-threatening diseases.

His mom, one of seven Reilly children, joined him in 1999 and today doubles as a mentor for new and younger counselors. A year later dad added himself to the camp lineup.

Isabelle Reilly's association with AmeriCares extends back to 1990 and has taken her to Albania, Haiti and Honduras to see for herself how the products she solicits from the private sector are utilized by the disadvantaged.

In the AmeriCares building up to 20 hours a week, clothing, footwear and toys are typical products she solicits, all particularly functional for a camp. The pharmaceutical donations fall into the precinct of other personnel at AmeriCares. "I don't do drugs," West Norwalk's Reilly impishly tells people at cocktail parties.

Reilly's affiliation with AmeriCares started after eight years as the principal of a market research company in Darien, CT left by her late husband Eugene.

"I needed something to do," she explains. "AmeriCares gives me a sense of doing something for somebody else, especially those that don't have as much."

"Working with young people," she says, "keeps you young. They have enthusiasm and you catch it."

Does she see a point in the future when she might want to give up volunteering?

"I'll keep going, " she responds, "as long as I feel good . . . or until I fall over."

For more information, or to contact AmeriCares Foundation, see their website at: www.americares.org