Your Volunteer Role and housing information
Welcome to your Volunteer assignment page! Here you’ll find all the details that will help you feel right at home for the weekend, including your volunteer assignment, your housing assignment, and a heads up to the people you can expect to be there with you during the weekend.
Each of these selections was thoughtfully arranged in hopes of creating a fun, supportive, and connected experience for you, our families and everyone.
You have been selected as a FAMILY PAL!
Family Pals are paired with a family and serve as their guide throughout the weekend. That means welcoming your family to camp, escorting them throughout their camp experience and enjoying the joys of camp with all members of the family. Your role is very important because as the initial face of Sun Escape and the family’s constant representation, you have a major part in the feel of camp and the community that is established. In short, laugh, play and care for your campers
Your assigned family for the weekend is THE WILT-HELMICK FAMILY!
Mom Miranda and her two children Connor & Myleigh all have EPP. Last year’s Sun Escape was the much needed win the family needed after back to back reactions ruined their previously planned family vacations. “The sun escape weekend was a dream come true,” Miranda wrote to us. “Our kids had the incredible opportunity to connect with other who face similar daily challenges. For once, they could just breathe, no need to explain their condition or feel different. They simply got to exist, fully and freely. Knowing they are not alone will forever change how they grow up with this rare disease. It opens their world to the strength of community, to the comfort of understanding, and to the power of support. Sun Escape allowed our children to just be kids, to have fun without worry or consequence. The impact wasn't just on us but extended to the friends and family we shared the experience with. This weekend left a lasting mark on our hearts and we would be overjoyed with the chance to do it
We encourage our volunteers to reach out to their assigned family via email prior to the start of camp to introduce themselves. The family’s email is below. We have also shared with the family your primary email should they wish to get in contact with you proactively. While highly encouraged on both ends, it is not required to reach out.
mnmiller9809@gmail.com
Your Family’s Basic Info & Their Color Grouping
Photosensitive Condition: Erythropoietic Protoporphyria
Primary Campers: Connor (10) & Myleigh Helmick (12)
Additional Family Members: Miranda Wilt, Thomas Wilt
Home State: West Virginia
At Sun Escape, each family is assigned a color group to help guide the flow of the weekend. While many activities are enjoyed together, this color determines the schedule your family will follow for certain program areas. Their cabin will match their assigned color, making it easy to stay connected with your group throughout the weekend.
Your family’s assigned color group is YELLOW
The Families in The YELLOW Group Will Be
The Lazarus Family - EPP (Hannah Barclay)
The Bovet Family - SOLAR URTICARIA (Melba Jean Miller)
The Delorme Family - EPP (Leslie Schopmeyer)
The Komon Family - EPP (Emily Pearson)
The Ouimet Family - EPP (Ginger Gonsalves)
The Hynes Family - EPP (Cortney Tabakelis)
The Wilt-Helmick Family - EPP (Tina Birdsong)
The Mitchell Family - EPP (Hetanshi Naik)
Your Volunteer Housing Assignment
Volunteers and support staff will not be located on cabin row; instead, they will be organized together in communal housing close to the Super Dome. Resembling a college dorm, most units accommodate 4 to 5 guests, featuring two private bedrooms, a common area, and a shared bathroom.
If you've indicated that you're traveling with a partner or family member, we will ensure that you are placed in the same room. You have been assigned to room P1 in our Program Housing Wing, which also includes:
Erin Janiak
Stephanee Schrimpf
Tony Maier-ehlers
Andrea Fulkerson
We cannot wait to see you soon!
