On a recent summer morning, Stella Schneider begged her mother not to take her to a speech therapy appointment so she could instead take the bus with her friends to the Albert & Ann Deshur JCC Rainbow Day Camp, where she has spent the last couple of months rediscovering her childhood.
“She was like, ‘We play games and I talk with my friends’ on the bus,” her mother Rese Schneider said. “If the bus ride is that important to her, then the rest of camp is just a magical place for her too.”
The camp in Fredonia has been a refuge for Stella this summer, two years after she was diagnosed with a brain tumor and cancer. She is now cancer free but faces a long road to recovery after enduring brain surgery along with radiation and brutal chemotherapy.
But with help from the immensely accommodating staff at the camp, Stella has been able to spend the summer as any 9-year-old should, enjoying outdoor activities, making crafts and interacting with the natural surroundings.
“I wanted her to feel like a kid again … go to camp, have fun, make friends … go swimming,” Schneider said, noting that Stella missed second grade due to her illness.
The camp has assigned a counselor to help Stella around the 110-acre facility in a golf cart and assist her with tasks that call on her strength and motor skills.
“Stella is the reason why I love my job. It’s because I believe that every kid needs to have a place that they can feel safe and have fun,” JCC Rainbow Camp Director Shelby Elias said. “It’s her bravery and her humor. She just brings a light to our community that is so unique and so special.”
Having Stella at camp this summer has put a spotlight on the camp’s inclusion program that reinforces the fact that “everybody’s unique” within the Rainbow community, Elias said.
“She’s part of our community, and that’s what we teach. It’s the value that we uphold,” Elias said.
Stella is an active, athletic and determined child, who loves animals and dragons.
“She has been through unimaginable experiences with her brain cancer, going one day from being a normal kid to having all of that taken away from her, she has shown all of us courage,” her mother said. “She’s an incredible kid.”
Childhood cancer impacts the entire family, Elias learned last summer when Stella’s mother called the camp. Jake, Stella’s younger brother who adores her, was having difficulties at school as his sister was going through chemotherapy, Schneider told Elias.
The camp staff said “You bring Jakey to us, and we will do everything we need to for him. Jake had the best summer last summer. They took care of Jake and I never for a second had to worry. Jake came home sweaty and dirty and exhausted and had a great time,” Schneider said.
Stella’s need to play has also been the source of inspiration for her mother, who started Stella’s Playground, an initiative to build an accessible and inclusive playground in Kilbourn Reservoir Park in Milwaukee. The camp set up four service projects to help raise money for the project.
“When her mom said we’re building a playground, I just said, Well, we’re helping you,” Elias said.
“If there’s a sliver of joy or a sliver of positivity that I can give them, whether that’s making sure that Jake feels safe, or whether it’s making sure that Stella gets to the activity that she wants, that’s why I do what I do. Stella’s family will hold a special place in my heart for forever.”
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