A Hole For Happiness

Story and photos by Josh Schermerhorn

Health and happiness may sound like ordinary hopes and dreams for most people, but for children with life-threatening diseases, they are words that may never become reality.  With the constant struggle to survive, the Double H Ranch can provide these children with a new light to life.

Located in Lake Luzerne, N.Y., the ranch is one of many around the world founded by Team Hole in the Wall.  The camp was created to help children with terminal or chronic illnesses around the world, ranging from Florida to California to France. 

The team was founded by the late Paul Newman, whose active work and philanthropy have been well noted around the world.  The Newman’s Own Foundation has donated over $265 million to charities worldwide.

Newman founded the first camp in 1988 in Connecticut, but did not find his way to the Adirondacks until the early 90’s.  However, philanthropy was not absent in the region.  Charles R. Wood, or “Charley” as he was known, had his own foundation donating funds to programs around the area.  The two collaborated on the Double H project in 1992, building it on a 320-acre dude ranch.

Nobody has probably been closer to either of these contributors than CEO Executive Director Max Yurenda.  “I used to meet with Mr. Wood every morning and afternoon, and Mr. Newman a few times a year to discuss the ranch,” says Yurenda, who started his position January 4, 1993.  “It was Newman’s original idea, but it was Wood’s vision.  He made everything happen.”     

“It’s their resilience that gets to you.  They allow you to open up your hearts to them, which is undoubtedly a privilege.  They show that even in the later stages of their lives, a sense of living every moment still remains.”

The ranch holds a summer program, accommodating 126 kids per session, and 1,000 children per season.  Though many children have terminal diseases, not all have to be.  However, the list of illnesses of children at the camp is daunting, including HIV, cancer, hemophilia and sickle cell disease.  Kids can be recommended by doctors, hospitals, and other families to the camp.

Even though most of these diseases endanger the livelihood of these chidlren, it is their spirit that prevails in the hearts of the people. 

“I’ve formed some of the closest relationships of my life with these kids, and that includes my wonderful family,” says Yurenda.  “It’s their resilience that gets to you.  They allow you to open up your hearts to them, which is undoubtedly a privilege.  They show that even in the later stages of their lives, a sense of living every moment still remains.”

"She literally lived to come back to this camp, and that’s what we want.”

Once in the camp, children can engage in outdoor Adirondack experiences that they may not be able to do in other settings.  Last summer, 800 children from many states, Canada, and Switzerland attended the summer camp.  The camp offers activities of the passive and social variety, but also mixes a more active role into the program.  Children from ages 6 to 16 can engage in low or high rope challenges, a full equestrian program, a petting zoo, an indoor and outdoor pool, and even their own lake (Lake Varane) for recreation. 

Phil Mance, the facilities manager of the camp for four years, has seen the effect the programs have on the children first hand. 

“I love it here,” says Mance.  “It’s special to see what the camp does to these kids, and it makes the crew that works here feel great that the things we built are putting joy in the children.”

The Adaptive Winter Sports Program, which was added to the camp’s programs four years after the summer ones, allows children to participate in a multitude of winter activities from early January to April 1st.  The camp offers a private mountain equipped with a two-chair ski lift, snowshoeing, and three miles of Nordic trails for cross-country skiing.

Dave Waite has been the mountain manager of the winter program for seven years, and has seen its success.  “We have a great program, and the counselors who work here are special,” says Waite.  “You see those kids come down that mountain, and they have a smile from ear to ear.  Everyone who works here loves to see that every time.”

The program is one-of-a-kind in the country, for it is the only winter program that cannot be accessed by the public, and is devoted only to the children of the ranch.  Families can even stay over on select weekends with the children to get a feel for what it’s like in the camp.

“You see those kids come down that mountain, and they have a smile from ear to ear.  Everyone who works here loves to see that every time.”

“This is about leadership and cooperation.  We want the kids to feel they are part of something special every moment we can,” says Yurenda.  “It makes me appreciate what I do have in my life.  The memories these kids make last forever.”

One memory Yurenda holds is of Jade, a past camper at Double H.  After completing a summer program, doctors informed the camp that she would not live through the fall.  However, she made it back, and the camp adapted the program to suit her needs in a wheelchair. 

“I saw her one day, and decided to go visit her,” says Yurenda.  “Her wheelchair was her throne, so I told her ‘wow, you look as beautiful as a princess.  What would a princess want?’

“She told me ‘money,’ in a quiet voice.  So I asked her ‘well how much money would you want?’  She told me ‘a dollar.’  So of course, I gave it to her, and she held on to that dollar for three days.  She literally lived to come back to this camp, and that’s what we want.”

Jade passed away one week after she left the program.  However, it is the stories of Jade that are what the Double H Ranch strives for.  Kids at the ranch can find their happiness here in as healthy a way as they can experience.  It’s the product of generosity from world-class philanthropists like Paul Newman and Charles Wood that has allowed more than 17,000 children to experience the Hole in the Wall vision.      

Do you know a child interested in attending the camp?