Sun Starting to Set on Dreams Of a Better Summer

When our Send a Kid to Camp campaign kicked off in early June, we set an ambitious goal of raising $475,000 by July 25 -- enough to cover at least a week at Camp Moss Hollow in the Blue Ridge foothills for hundreds of children who otherwise wouldn't have much of a summer.

We thank all of you who have contributed to the campaign, and we ask those of you who haven't yet to help us make our goal. We are still short $146,512.90 -- a rather daunting amount.

So as you're relaxing by the pool, sending your children off to camp or filling the car with friends for a weekend at Rehoboth Beach, remember that there are youngsters whose circumstances don't allow such pleasures. For more than a century, the private charity Family and Child Services has been providing summer fun at camp for just those kids.

The 400-acre Camp Moss Hollow provides an alternative to being stuck inside with only television or video games for company. It provides a safe environment, when summer in the city might otherwise expose kids to possible mischief on the streets.

As one 10-year-old girl told me recently when I asked her why she had come to camp, "My daddy thought this would be a good time for me to stay away from the dangerous things around my house."

With woodsy hills, rustic cabins and a staff of caring adults who provide three square meals a day, Moss Hollow offers the fun and freedom all children deserve, no matter where they come from.

Moss Hollow provides an alternative to today's plugged-in and hyped-up life. IPods are left at home. Video games and television are banned. Instead, campers discover what it means to be quiet, to read or play a board game, to listen to the slap of a canoe paddle on the pond's surface, the songs of cardinals, even the screech of an eagle. And, yes, there is an eagle's nest nearby.

We want to thank readers who have stepped up and contributed $328,487.10 so youngsters can experience Moss Hollow. And we have been amazed at the clever ways many of you have found to give.

This month, we wrote about Michael Buscemi, 14, who organized his pals in the Shady Grove Middle School Leo Club and held a carwash to benefit Send a Kid to Camp. The group made $386.73.

On Monday, about 75 women attended an invitation-only party, hosted by the Georgetown Ritz-Carlton and organized by Mame Reiley and Tani Lublin, to benefit Moss Hollow. The two are neighbors at Marina Towers in Alexandria. The guests nibbled hors d'oeuvres and sipped beverages in the bar while they got makeup tips and mini-makeovers from Saks Fifth Avenue and Chanel experts. Mostly, Lublin said, they just had a great time and raised more than $1,900 so more youngsters could have a great time, too -- at Camp Moss Hollow.

And take note, flea market fans: You might want to check out 3 Chevy Chase Cir. tomorrow, where All Saints Church is holding a yard sale. Proceeds go to Moss Hollow scholarships, and organizer Sally Griffin says there will be lots of toys, books, vintage objects and collectibles for sale from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Individual gifts to Send a Kid to Camp have arrived in our mail with all sorts of notes, many saying how important a camp experience can be.