Photo by Cora Kaiser

December 2021

Isabella Mcshea ’16 is a volunteer at Camp Agape Northwest, a nonprofit organization founded on the Kitsap Peninsula in 1997 to serve children with cancer and their families. She started volunteering for the camp in 2013 to meet Lakeside’s service hours requirement — and has continued the work for the past eight years.

Several Lakeside alumni have followed the same pipeline. In normal years, the camp accommodates entire families for a week by providing a counselor for the child going through cancer treatments, special activities for their siblings, and time for their parents to be together.

The goal is to have children with cancer feel normal, for siblings a chance to feel special, and for parents and guardians a time to be together.These past two pandemic summers, McShea and the camp at large have been running programs via Zoom and sending various toys and games to simulate a typical camp experience. Inspired by her time working with Camp Agape, McShea is now pursuing a career as a therapist.

Lakesiders who have volunteered at Camp Agape over the years include Isabella McShea ’16, Arianna Vokos ’08, Sophia Vokos ’12, Quinton Hayre ’19, Reilly Pigott ’19, Sam Frohlich ’20, Blake Pigott ’21, and John McShea ’21.