Ten years ago, I returned home from my freshman year at the University of Michigan with no summer plan. I applied to work as a counselor at Sunrise Day Camp, the world’s only full summer day camp for children with cancer and their siblings, completely free of charge (www.sunrisedaycamp-longisland.org). Pediatric cancer was not personal to me; it just seemed like something nice to do with my summer before moving on with the rest of my life.

Ten years later…I’m still here. At 24 years old, to the confusion of many, I left a very normal CPA career at Deloitte and became Sunrise's assistant camp director.

Over the last decade, I have met hundreds and hundreds of resilient families devastated by a cancer diagnosis that have mustered the strength to hold it all together. I have hired hundreds and hundreds of the best people I’ve ever met who work their butts off every summer to give our kids an amazing, normal summer camp experience that every child deserves, but our children truly need. I have attended more funerals than I ever thought I would in a lifetime. I have given approximately 100,000 hugs. I have cried. I have watched kids learn how to swim who never thought they would. I have had the most unique summers any twenty-something guy could ever have. Ten years later…pediatric cancer is now very very personal to me.

I am fighting and raising money because I love the 700+ kids of Sunrise Day Camp- Long Island. For the next 4 months, I am not only going to train as hard as I can to win my fight, but I am going to raise as much money as I possibly can to help Sunrise continue to fight against the horrible effects of a cancer diagnosis on a child. We will continue to give our kids and their families the life-changing summers they truly need.

I've never been in a fight before. And I've never tried to raise this much money before. But every day, our kids push me to be better, so it's time to step outside of my comfort zone.

If you know anything about me, you know I am awful at asking for help. But I am asking for your help. Whether it’s $100, $1, or $1000…anything you can give will go to incredible use for these kids. I see it firsthand…Sunrise absolutely 100% changes lives for families who need it the most.

And if you want to watch me get repeatedly punched in the face on November 14th, buy a ticket to support Haymakers as well as Sunrise. Haymakers is doing incredible work supporting cancer research, and until we can #KOCancer, the cancer research community needs help too.

But until there's a cure, there's Sunrise.