BALD KNOB - All decked out in brightly colored costumes and clown faces, a group of children got to run away to the circus on a recent hot Saturday afternoon.
The children treated their parents and the staff of Camp Quality Arkansas to a little "Big Top" show. One act followed another as the children showed their freshly learned prowess on the trapeze, Chinese yo-yos, spinning plates, balancing on a wire and other skills as they clowned around during a two-hour program.
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It was the last day of a week-long camp for 36 children from ages 4 to 17. All are cancer patients or siblings of patients. The circus was held June 14 to celebrate the camp's 20th year.
Camp Quality Arkansas hosts the children every summer on the hilly land of Camp Powderfork, which has capacity for about 60.
Most are referred by doctors or hear about the free camp by word of mouth. For every child, there is an assigned staff member. Some on the staff, like Chris Jennings, have been involved for several years.
Jennings, 36, who teaches at Valley View Junior High School in Jonesboro, was asked to volunteer 20 years ago when he was 16. He has been at the camp every year since.
"It's for the kids, but I feel like I get just as much as they do," he says.
When she was in the fifth grade, Jerylene Woerpel, 39, lost a friend to cancer and at age 17, her mother. It inspired her to want to help others affected by the disease. She answered an ad she saw in a newspaper seeking volunteers to work with children with cancer. That was 10 years ago and she is still going, and now her daughter Jessie, 17, is a three-year veteran.
Many of the children return year after year.
A mother in Springdale has sent three children to the camp - her son, who has leukemia, and her daughters. It's their fourth year to participate.
Cirque du Jour, an event-production company from Naugatuck, Conn., sent several people with trapeze equipment and circus props to work with the children and assist with the show.
When asked about performing in a circus, Natalie, 16, who performed on the trapeze, was quick to respond.
"It's incredible," she said, beaming proudly.
Style, Pages 35 on 06/26/2008