Members of the Cornell University Men’s Basketball Team volunteered at the Camp Good Days and Special Times Annual Joe Benet Memorial Kazoo Fest last Friday and Sunday at the Shops at Ithaca Mall. Over the two days, all players from the team took part in this special volunteer activity, led by Head Coach, Steve Donahue.
The Annual Joe Benet Memorial Kazoo Fest, a long-standing holiday tradition, is taking place through Wednesday, December 23, 2009. All of the proceeds from the Kazoo Fest benefit the many programs and services provided by Camp Good Days to children, adults and families whose lives have been touched by cancer and other life threatening challenges.
The Kazoo Fest was started more than 60 years ago by Joe Benet outside the Toy Department of the Sibley’s store on Main Street in downtown Rochester and has since become one of the major and most successful fundraising events to benefit the many programs and services provided by Camp Good Days. Following Joe Benet’s death from cancer, his son, former Monroe County Legislator, Bill Benet, contacted Mervis to see if the Kazoo Fest tradition could be continued, staffed by volunteers, with proceeds benefiting the programs and services at Camp Good Days. Since 1984, Camp Good Days, with help and support from various retail locations and thousands of volunteers, has continued the Kazoo Fest.
Camp Good Days and Special Times is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization, dedicated to improving the quality of life for children, adults, and families whose lives have been touched by cancer and other life challenges, founded 30 years ago, in Rochester, New York, by Mervis, following the diagnosis of his youngest daughter, Teddi, with a malignant brain tumor.
What was started to provide a residential camping experience for Teddi and 62 other children dealing with cancer, has grown to become one of the largest organizations of its kind in the country and many of the programs and services started by Camp Good Days have been used as models by other cancer treatment centers and organizations all over the world. Since its inception, Camp Good Days has served more than 42,000 campers from 22 states and 25 foreign countries.
Members of the Cornell University Men’s Basketball Team volunteered at the Camp Good Days and Special Times Annual Joe Benet Memorial Kazoo Fest last Friday and Sunday at the Shops at Ithaca Mall. Over the two days, all players from the team took part in this special volunteer activity, led by Head Coach, Steve Donahue. 
