Camp Rainbow Gold gives children with cancer and their families a summer camp experience

FAIRFIELD, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — From fishing to mountain biking, boating, and roaring campfires, Camp Rainbow Gold is giving children with cancer and their families a classic summer camp experience.

“We have three new bike trails that they get to explore that are a total of four miles, we have fishing right here on-site,” said Elizabeth Lizberg, CEO of Camp Rainbow Gold.

But more than the fun activities, the children who attend Camp Rainbow Gold are able to connect with others who understand what is it like to have cancer or to be a sibling of a cancer patient. They offer two weeks of oncology camp and one week of sibling camp.

“Camp provides them the opportunity to come, realize that they aren’t alone, and learn to lean on each other through this challenge,” said Lizberg.

Activities director, Maggie Alcaraz began Camp Rainbow Gold journey at the sibling camp when her sister was diagnosed with leukemia. She says the reason she continues to be a part of the camp is because of what it provides to children from across Idaho.

“It was a place where I felt like I did a lot of healing, a place where I felt that I could be safe and be able to understand that what I was going to wasn’t something rare, that I had a whole community here, that also, unfortunately, was experiencing something similar,” said Alcaraz.

And for the siblings who sometimes aren’t able to just be kids, the week gives them just that.

“Specifically for the siblings, I feel like a lot of people don’t realize how much they have to grow up and they are forced to have to grow up and mature, to become caretakers either for other siblings or just taking care of themselves, and this is the week that we get to tell them you get to be a kid again,” said Alcaraz.

Their location in Fairfield will also be able to host three other summer camps this year. One for widows, one for children whose parents have cancer and another for children with complicated medical diagnoses.

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