About Us

Kesem is a nationwide community, driven by passionate college student leaders, that supports children through and beyond their parent's cancer. Kesem's flagship program, Camp Kesem, operates free summer camps for children who have been impacted by a parent's cancer. Founded at Stanford University in 2000, Camp Kesem has since expanded to 137 chapters in 44 states across the country.

The Need

With over 5 million children impacted by a parent's cancer, Kesem must continue expanding to meet this need. Kesem is the largest national organization dedicated to this unique population, and for many children their Camp Kesem experience is a life-changing event–providing them a community of children with similar experiences, and a safe and welcoming environment to have fun and rediscover their childhood.

Beyond that, our replicable and highly scalable funding model also allows for rapid expansion. In the summer of 2020, more than 8,600 children attended over 140 week-long sessions of our new, innovated Kesem at Home program in lieu of our traditional in-person camp program. And with your help, we hope to continue supporting more and more children each year!

Thank you for being an important part of our growth as we support children through and beyond their parent's cancer with innovative, fun-filled programs that foster a lasting community!