Julian, lovingly known as Counselor Munch, knows that healing isn’t just about medical treatment — it’s about hope, connection, and enjoying time together.
At age 12, Munch experienced a family Camp after his sister’s leukemia diagnosis. He was amazed by what he saw there.
“ This place is a healing center where families bring their troubles and leave them at the door.”
“In my first year, it was very much like, ‘Whoa, what is this? Everyone’s really happy. Everyone’s really smiley. There are all these games and these skits,’” Munch says.
“So I was 13 or 12 when I first came, and it was just a very surreal experience seeing all these kids — different walks of life and just being happy, having fun. It was something that I had never seen, and it was almost like a shock the first night because some kids had cancer, some were siblings, some were still in remission, but everybody was talking to everybody, having a good time,” Munch remembers.
“For some kids, literally this one week is the only week they have away from their troubles,” he explains.
For siblings like him, Camp provided something equally crucial: acknowledgment. “I felt seen,” he shares. “I realized I wasn’t alone in my experience.”
Now a chemist and Camp counselor, Munch returns to create the same magical space that once supported him. He gets to witness families that might normally juggle multiple jobs, care for sick siblings, or navigate complex medical journeys simply being happy together.
“This place is a healing center where families bring their troubles and leave them at the door,” Munch says. “It’s almost instantaneous and magical.”
