JAMES CANTON
Chief Executive Officer
James H. Canton has had a relationship with The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp since it began in 1988. During that time he has been a counselor, unit leader, assistant director and for eight years, camp director. He was appointed as Chief Executive Officer in the Spring of 2002.
As camp director, Mr. Canton led the development of various programs to extend the healing touch of Camp throughout the year. Fall and spring weekend programs were created to serve the previous summers’ campers, as well as family retreats for children who might not have the chance to experience a summer session.
Under his leadership as CEO, the Camp’s Hospital Outreach Program was commissioned to bring Camp to hospitalized children. What began as a summer camp in 1988 serving 288 children has grown, under Mr. Canton’s leadership, to a year-round center serving more than 20,000 children and family members annually. He continues to volunteer during two sessions at The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp in Ashford, Conn., participating actively with campers in the Camp program.
Mr. Canton has played a part in programmatic development of many SeriousFun Children’s Network camps. He has also assisted with the launch of sister camps around the world, including those in France, Italy, Hungary, Japan, and the Network’s first camp programs in Africa. He has helped to advance the SeriousFun Children’s Network accrediting criteria throughout the world and participates as a site visitor in the accreditation process.
Mr. Canton graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. in humanities and received a master’s degree in theology from Yale Divinity School.
RYAN THOMPSON
Chief Development and Communications Officer
Ryan Thompson began volunteering as a cabin counselor at The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp in the summer of 2009 and joined the staff in 2011. In his current role, Ryan oversees all Camp communications and development initiatives. Most recently he served as Hole in the Wall’s Chief Communications Officer
He previously served as director of development and the East Coast Regional Office at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Prior to joining the University of Chicago, Ryan spent several years at Fordham University, serving as a media relations specialist, editor and assistant director of corporate and foundation relations.
Ryan holds two degrees from Fordham, a B.A. in communication/media studies and an M.A. in public communications. He also has taught as an adjunct professor at Fordham College at Lincoln Center, where he designed an experiential public relations course for undergraduate students.
The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp was founded in 1988 by Paul Newman with one simple premise in mind: to provide opportunities for children with serious illnesses to experience the transformational spirit and friendships that go hand-in-hand with camp.
Paul Newman, while a successful actor, was also a visionary with the heart of a child. His personality, playfulness and mischievousness are infused within every corner of Camp, from the pirate flag he raised on the tree house to the days he spent on the lake fishing with campers. It was Paul’s dream that Camp, with its unobtrusive expert medical care, would provide seriously ill children with a fun-filled experience defined by compassion, laughter and acceptance.
A Little History
Newman announced his plans to build The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp in 1986, and in June 1988, Camp opened. When the campers arrived, they found a kid-sized old west setting inspired by “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” and filled with traditional summer camp programs adapted so that children with physical and medical limitations could participate. The accessibility of the programs along with a significant, yet unobtrusive medical presence allowed campers to embrace possibilities and safely challenge perceived limitations. Among kindred spirits facing similar challenges, they escaped isolation and found a community defined by acceptance.
In 1989, the healing power of Hole in the Wall extended to families with the introduction of a summer session for the healthy siblings of campers. In 1992, parents got in on the fun when the Camp introduced the first Change of Pace Experience (COPE) weekend. Then in 2002, one charismatic counselor, armed with paints and craft projects, ventured into a Connecticut hospital and proved that the fun and friendship experienced at Camp were portable. That is how the Hospital Outreach Program began and today more than 30 full-time specialists are serving nearly 40 locations from Boston to Philadelphia. Then in 2013, CampOut was launched, bringing the fun and friendship of Camp directly into camper homes and communities.
For more go to:https://www.holeinthewallgang.org/
Arranged by Gary Banks
Presentation video: https://youtu.be/vJ60J66hswE