Bradley Cooper, who volunteered as a cabin counselor for seriously ill children at The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp in the summer of 2006, has joined the organization’s Board of Directors to help carry the torch left behind by founder Paul Newman.
“Today, as the very first campers of the summer arrive at The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp for a healing week of fun and friendship, their excitement is matched by our own as we share the wonderful news that Bradley Cooper has joined our Board of Directors,” said Board Chair Ray Lamontagne. “The fact that Bradley spent a week in the cabins as a volunteer counselor gives him a wonderful insight into what The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp calls ‘a different kind of healing,’ and his longtime friendship to the organization is a beautifully fitting testament to Paul Newman’s enduring legacy.”
The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp has a long history of celebrity advocacy. In addition to founder Paul Newman, the Camp has benefitted from the spirited involvement of many well-known celebrity friends since its founding in 1988, most notably at the Camp’s Fandango Benefit Gala that is held at Hole in the Wall every September. Cooper is part of a next generation of celebrity friends who hopes that his involvement will inspire others to get involved and support the Camp’s mission as it continues to expand its services for seriously ill children and their families.
“When I spent a week at The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp as a counselor, I was amazed at how the spirit of Camp is able to help kids facing so much escape their illness, make fast friends and remember what being a kid is all about,” said Cooper, who volunteered during a summer session for children with immunology disorders such as HIV/AIDS. “I am excited to be joining The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp’s Board of Directors at a time when the organization is growing its services to bring the magic of Hole in the Wall to even more children and families throughout the Northeast, including my hometown of Philadelphia, where the Hospital Outreach Program is bringing Camp fun to kids at their bedsides.”
In addition to the Hospital Outreach Program’s recent expansion into Philadelphia in 2013, The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp is also in the process of extending that program’s year-round services to New Jersey. Additionally, a whole new mobile Camp program – CampOut – is now bringing Hole in the Wall programming to camper homes, neighborhoods and communities via a fun-filled, whimsically appointed van. The Connecticut-based Camp, which served 288 children its first summer, now serves more than 25,000 seriously ill children and family members throughout the Northeast annually.
Founded in 1988 by Paul Newman, The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp is a community dedicated to providing “a different kind of healing” to seriously ill children and their families through a variety of year-round programs. The Camp delivers fun, friendship and a healthy dose of mischief through its signature summer program and weekend sessions at the Camp facility in Ashford, Conn. as well as outreach to hospitals, clinics and communities across the Northeast. All services are free of charge. For more information, click here.
