Way to Go! Max Miller of Roslyn
A Roslyn teenager raised $300,000 to build a S.T.E.A.M. Shack at a day camp in Wheatley Heights for children with cancer and their siblings.
Max Miller, a senior at Friends Academy in Locust Valley, raised the funds for Sunrise Day Camp, where he was a counselor last summer. He subsequently launched the fundraising campaign to help kids there gain skills for career opportunities in science, technology, engineering, art and math — also known as S.T.E.A.M.
The 1,800-square-foot structure is expected to open next summer. Children this past summer were in a mobile classroom donated by Talay Trailer Sales & Rentals of Bay Shore.
“The campers loved it,” said Miller, 17. “I had campers who wouldn’t leave.”
Much of the $300,000 came from sponsorships, including $150,000 from the Laura Rosenberg Foundation and $25,000 from Bethpage Federal Credit Union. An additional $30,000 came from donations through Generosity.com.
Miller said SUNation Solar Systems in Ronkonkoma has offered to donate solar panels and Verizon offered a broadband update at the camp to assist the S.T.E.A.M. Shack’s operation.
He plans to bring a version of his program to several hospitals this winter, using computer kits donated by Kano. He and two friends exhibited the S.T.E.A.M. Shack concept last month at the World Maker Faire New York in Queens and won “Best in Class” and “Editors Choice” awards.