As soon as Jeffrey B. Hecktman, founder and CEO of Northbrook-based international financial services company Hilco Global, learned about JCC Chicago’s plans for Sunrise Day Camp-Chicago, a camp for children with a cancer diagnosis and their siblings ages 3-1/2 to 16, he knew he had to help.
After an eye-opening trip to Sunrise Day Camp in New York, he agreed to underwrite the first three years of the operations for the camp through his Hecktman Family Foundation. “The family was willing to commit a million and a half dollars to get this thing off the ground,” Hecktman said.
But that was only the beginning of how Hecktman, his family, and his company are helping support the camp that is free to all campers.
It all began a year ago when Hecktman and his daughter Hillary M. Hecktman Behar were having breakfast with Addie Goodman, President and CEO of JCC Chicago. “I was introducing Hillary to Addie because Addie is a very strong female executive working in philanthropic endeavors and that was a good role model I thought for my daughter,” Hecktman related. They asked Goodman about the programs she was interested in.
When they learned about the JCC’s plans to open Sunrise Day Camp in 2023 in Lake Zurich, Hecktman and his daughter were immediately interested because Hecktman Behar was a nurse practitioner who specialized in pediatric oncology at Comer Children’s Hospital.
To learn more about the camp, Hecktman and his daughter flew to the original Sunrise Day Camp in Long Island, New York.
“We watched these children piling out of buses smiling,” Hecktman recalled.
Hecktman Behar added, “Each child has an opportunity with every block of time that they transfer to a new activity to have either a high or low activity experience.” There are numerous options for the children in either activity category.
When they saw the range of activities for the children and how happy they were, Hecktman knew that he wanted to get involved through the Hecktman Family Foundation as well as through his company’s philanthropic arm, Hilco Helps.
On April 20, Hilco Helps made a $50,000 donation to Sunrise Day Camp-Chicago. Hilco Helpings is providing all the food and snacks for all campers for the entire summer. In addition, dozens of Hilco Global employees will be volunteering at the camp.
“We went out to many of our partners in the company and friends of the family and they got behind us,” Hecktman reported. “We probably raised another million and a half dollars additional money.”
In addition, donors are providing payment in kind for construction, architecture, and landscaping services.
Hecktman Behar is also providing a valuable service to the camp. “I was able to bring in some of my former oncology nurse practitioners colleagues,” she reported. “Former patients and their family members who’ve now decided to pursue a profession in nursing are going to come to the camp and work as partners of mine.” Hecktman Behar will be a pediatric oncology nurse at the camp.
Hecktman’s wife Penny, and their two other daughters, Candace Hecktman Arnold, and Valerie Hecktman will all be working at the camp during the summer.
JCC-Chicago’s Goodman noted that her organization has a robust summer camp program already. “We’re in nine different locations with almost 4,000 kids,” she said. “Camp is in our DNA as an organization. When I heard about Sunrise, it was an easy yes to recognize that these kids facing cancer themselves, and their siblings, would have a really beautiful summer.”
She credits the Hecktmans and their Family Foundation for making it possible to launch the camp this year. “The Hecktman family and the Hecktman Family Foundation were incredibly generous,” Goodman said. “Hilary’s experience and connection in the health care space is also incredibly essential.”
At press time, 30 children had registered for Sunrise Day Camp-Chicago but they are expecting to have 100 campers for its first summer. Campers have an option of coming every day or one or more days depending on their health and schedules.
Hecktman added that they are looking for additional partners to support the camp. “This needs continual funding,” he explained.
Myrna Petlicki is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
