From finding hope at Camp to helping create it for others.
When Gracin Kerry was diagnosed with an extremely rare form of cancer at just one year old, her family entered a world of treatments, hospital stays, and uncertainty. For parents Nikki and Mike, and Gracin’s brothers, Ryan, Sean and Nolan, life changed overnight.
Years later, their connection to Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times has grown into a family-wide commitment to helping other children and families experience the same hope and joy they found from day one at Camp.
After Gracin’s treatment, Nikki and Mike brought their children to Family Camp hoping to find a little normalcy.
They found talent shows, laughter, campfires, and the joy of watching Gracin catch her first fish. They also found other parents who understood their experiences, and space to begin processing everything their family had been through.
The Kerrys returned to Family Camp for four more years, each visit strengthening their connection to a community that had become an important part of their lives.
For the Kerry family, the connection they found at Camp didn’t end when their children grew older.
After experiencing firsthand the impact Camp had on her family, Nikki was inspired to join Camp’s Board of Trustees, helping ensure other families facing childhood cancer could experience the same hope, connection, and joy.
Mike, Gracin, Ryan, Sean, and Nolan have also remained deeply involved, contributing their time and talents through volunteer work weekends and projects across Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times. Together, they’ve helped rebuild the sports court pony wall, construct log furniture, paint, and repair cabins throughout the property.
What began as a place where their family found support has become a place they’ve helped shape for generations of families to come.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Gracin spearheaded a project to renovate Cabin 25. Looking for furniture and supplies, she posted a request for donations in a local Long Beach community group.
The response went far beyond anything they expected.
Former campers, counselors, and families came forward with furniture, household items, and stories of their own connections to Camp.
One woman donated her mother’s china because her mother had supported Camp for decades. Others shared stories of lifelong friendships, marriages, and memories of longtime Camp leader Brian Crater.
What started as a renovation became a reminder of just how many lives Camp had touched.
For the Kerry family, receiving the Brian Crater Legacy Award is more than an honor. It’s a deeply personal recognition.
“Receiving the Brian Crater Legacy Award is incredibly humbling, particularly because we had the privilege of knowing Brian personally,” Nikki shares.
When the Kerrys first arrived at Camp, they were a family searching for hope and healing. They never imagined how deeply Camp, its people, and its mission would become part of their lives.
Today, that connection extends across the entire family. From Family Camp and sleepaway sessions to volunteer work weekends and legacy projects, Gracin, Ryan, Sean, and Nolan have each developed their own relationship with Camp and a desire to give back. For Nikki, that’s what makes this recognition so meaningful.
“It isn’t about a single person, a single contribution, or even a single generation. It’s about the impact we have on others and the desire to pass along something meaningful that was once given to us.”
The Kerrys hope their continued involvement helps carry forward the warmth, compassion, joy, and sense of belonging that Brian brought to Camp and to every family he welcomed.
And as Nikki reflects on what receiving this award means to her family, she returns to the reason they continue giving back:
