The boys are doing a digital detox in preparation for their bar mitzvahs. All the funds raised will go to Camp Simcha. During the 48 hour detox, the boys will be doing lots of charitable activities. Please support AARON, ADAM, ARON, NOAH and SACHA. Good luck boys! Read below for more info and thanks for your donations and good wishes.

While Adam was ill, his friends were amazing and they learnt so much about what Camp Simcha offers families with a sick child.

This is Adam's story:
As many of you know, Camp Simcha is very close to my heart. In August 2010, whilst on holiday in Spain, I was 5 years old  and diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. I had to go through 3 and a half years treatment and am now about to celebrate my bar mitzvah. My family and I never imagined that we would need help and didn't realise until later how much we did.

Camp Simcha gave our family a family liaison officer who would respond to any request, day or night and me a big brother,James, who was the only person I wanted to see when I felt really poorly. He is now such a part of our family and is teaching me my  bar mitzvah!

When I think  about that time and ask my younger siblings, Katie and Louis what they remember about that terrible time, without hesitation, we talk of the art therapy, the various theatre trips and football matches provided for by Camp Simcha (often in stretch limos!) and attending Camp Simcha’s annual retreat.

Camp Simcha steps in and makes a huge difference helping ALL members of the family to cope through 24/7 hands on and therapeutic support.

This is Noah’s story:
I was only five years old at the time but can still clearly remember my mom explaining to me that my best friend Adam was very sick. He would need special kinds of medicine that would make him feel very unwell and cause him to loose his hair. At the time, it all didn’t mean that much to me not only because I was just five years old but because Adam appeared to carry on as ‘normal’. He went to every one of our football practices and matches (come rain or shine), he came to every birthday party and we continued to have regular play dates all while Adam was enduring gruelling chemotherapy sessions and undergoing numerous medical procedures. I will never forget attending my first ever professional football game with Adam, thanks to Camp Simcha and hanging out with Adam’s Camp Simcha ‘big brother’ James, he was always such fun. Looking back on that time at almost 13, I can only be inspired by Adam’s resilience and fighting spirit during such a difficult time. I believe that Camp Simcha definitely played a role in allowing both Adam and the entire Pollock family to carry on as normal as possible when their lives were thrown into turmoil.

This is Aron's Story:
I remember when my friend Adam became ill. I had never heard of Leukaemia before. It's not something any 5 year old should need to know about. I remember being told that he was having treatment but that we should all try to treat him the same as normal to help Adam forget what he was going through, at least while he was at school or on play dates.

I wondered what Adam would feel like and who would help him put all the pain and anguish out of his mind when he was at home and his friends weren't around to keep his spirits up. I thought his parents would be able to do that but I suppose they were sharing in Adam's experience themselves.

My mum told me that Adam was getting help from an organisation called Camp Simcha. That sounded great but I didn't really know what that meant until one day., a year or so later. Adam invited me on a trip organised by Camp Simcha to a football match at Wembley to watch England against Denmark. I'm a Leeds fan so opportunities to go to Wembley don't come around all that often!!

We set off from Adam's house with his 'Camp Simcha brother' called James in a limousine. In the car we had lots of fun and talked about football and other stuff. James explained about what he and many other 'brothers' and 'sisters' at Camp Simcha voluntarily do for loads of children suffering illnesses. It's not just about going to football matches though and I know James spent many hours with Adam at home. It really made me want to give back to this amazing cause.

That time has now come! I'm now a 12 year old and I spend most of my spare time on my gadgets (smart phone, PlayStation or PC) but I'm going to cast these digital devices aside for 2 days. With all the spare time I'll have I am going to do a number of charitable things like visiting the sick or aged and working in a soup kitchen with some of my friends. All the money we raise will go to Camp Simcha so they can continue to help many children through traumatic illnesses like my friend Adam.

This is Sacha's Story:
We chose to support Camp Simcha as part of our barmitzvah celebrations because it provided a lifeline to Adam and his family when he was diagnosed with leukemia when he was just 5. He was ill for over 3 years, but he was incredibly brave during this time. It seemed like he hardly missed any school. He came in when fellow classmates were ill and when it was freezing cold outside. Unbelievably, he carried on as normal when he must have been feeling really terrible. This was partly due to the vital support of Camp Simcha. I remember when Adam began his chemo and when he lost his hair. I went round to play with him during the winter holidays so that when he returned to school in January, some of his friends could support him without being shocked or scared. Thankfully, Adam is now better, but I will never forget how mature and strong he was despite being so unwell. He is an inspiration to us all, just like Camp Simcha itself. 

Now is our time to give back to Camp Simcha. We are attempting a 48 HOUR DIGITAL DETOX (no screens, phones, ipads - you name it - we can't use it!). For us, this is the ultimate challenge! We will be using the time to do Mitzvot such as visiting the sick, helping in an old age home, packing food parcels.

Camp Simcha is there to provide a glimmer of happiness and enjoyment for sick children and their families and for anyone going through what we experienced you will understand what a priceless thing that is. Camp Simcha made a real difference – it brought the fun back into my  family when we thought nothing could ever be fun again.

Please give generously to this amazing charity.