How you can help send 'Tom's Kids' to summer camp in the mountains

Of the many things Tom Heessy accomplished during his 27 years as the Press-Telegram’s lead columnist, there was nothing he was more proud of than helping kids.

Sadly, on April 2, just as we were plaing the newspaper’s 17th aual Send-A-Kid-to-Camp fundraising campaign, Tom, the project’s founder, passed away. To honor the veteran columnist, we are naming all boys and girls going to the camp this summer, “Tom’s Kids.”

“He would have loved that,” said his wife, Debbie, known affectionately as The Duchess. “He really enjoyed helping kids.”

Since the program began years ago, hundreds of children have attended a week-long summer camp, an experience they would otherwise never be able to afford without donations from Press-Telegram readers.

A public memorial service celebrating the life and legacy of Heessy will be held at 12:30 p.m. Saturday in the auditorium on the Liberal Arts Campus of Long Beach City College.

Heessy, who started writing his column at the Press-Telegram in 1980, became deeply involved in many charitable efforts in the community.

That’s why he was approached in 1999 with a little idea that has grown to change the lives of hundreds of Long Beach children.

Jean Bixby Smith, then chair of the Long Beach Community Foundation, came to the Press-Telegram and asked if we would be interested in helping send ier city kids to camp in the mountains.

Heessy immediately agreed to lead the campaign, a partnership between the newspaper, the foundation and the “Big 5” youths groups: Boys & Girls Clubs, Camp Fire USA, YMCA, Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts.

“This is a unique partnership that allows many kids to obtain a life-changing experience,” said Marcelle Epley, the current president and CEO of the foundation.

In that first year, we had a modest goal of raising $5,000 to $15,000, but readers donated more than $40,000. Since then, readers have given more than $1.2 million to the program.

“We never dreamed of raising that much money,” Heessy said last year. “Readers came through. I can’t thank them enough.”

As Heessy said over the years, one week of camp may not sound like much to some, “but for many of these youngsters, who are products of broken homes and sometimes crime-ridden neighborhoods, it is their first break in life,” he said during the campaign.

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Kids spend their time swimming, hiking, leaing crafts, and, maybe most importantly, making friends.

Many memories stand out.

One youngster who retued home from her week at camp said, “It was so quiet I could hear the wind.”

A mom whose son went to camp told us: “The changes I saw in my son has inspired me to become an involved volunteer.”

In her application, another mom said summer camp would help her daughter enjoy being a kid “instead of sitting at home worrying about grown-up problems.”

Many of the stories are heartbreaking. Children should not have to go through what some of these youngsters endure every day.

In lieu of flowers, Heessy’s family is asking that donations be sent in Tom’s name to the Send-a-Kid-to-Camp fund. It costs about $400 to send one kid to camp for one week.

Make checks payable to the P-T Send-a-Kid-to-Camp Fund and mail to: Long Beach Community Foundation, P.O. Box 32622, Long Beach, CA 90832. Online contributions may be made by clicking on longbeachcf.org.

For your convenience, today’s Press-Telegram includes a coupon you may use when sending your contribution.