Kellen’s father Dan asked his doctors ‘What is this child going to be able to do?’ “And they told us ‘Anything he wants to, but just a little bit differently.’”

When he was born, Kellen was diagnosed with cancer, paralyzing him from the waist down. It was then that his physical therapist told now six-year-old Kellen's parents Elizabeth and Dan about Pine Tree Camp.

Kellen went to Pine Tree Camp last year. For the first time, being in a wheelchair did not matter. He was immersed in Maine's beautiful outdoors, participating in activities we may take for granted, like swimming in North Pond's cool waters or fishing for a prized bass.

It's true...Pine Tree Camp's sessions are six days, but the impact on our campers lasts forever. Today, Kellen is counting down the days to Pine Tree Camp again.

On June 2, over 200 paddlers took to the Kennebec with their kayaks and canoes to raise money at our 22nd Annual Paddle for Pine Tree Camp.

FOX 22 ABC 7 Bangor interviewed camper Tristan Bouchard and Pine Tree Society’s Chief Development Officer Erin Rice.

“I really like Pine Tree Camp,” said camper Tristan Bouchard. “We do a lot of great stuff there.”

“That experience really impacted him in a big way so he got some friends together and they paddled down the Kennebec,” said Erin Rice, the chief development officer for Pine Tree Society. “It was super grassroots at that point – I think it was only like 10 people.”