Kid's Camp
Camp Jones Gulch
La Honda, CA
Held for one week each summer at the YMCA Camp Jones Gulch near La Honda, California, Kidney Kids Camp offers children with kidney disease the rare opportunity to enjoy a summer camp vacation while continuing to receive necessary medical treatments. While attending camp, children can participate in all camp activities including hiking, swimming, horseback riding, team and individual sports and overnight campouts alongside regular YMCA summer campers. During the one week session, Camp Jones Gulch sets aside one of its cabins for use as a field dialysis center where campers can receive medical treatment. Local dialysis centers donate water treatment equipment, dialysis machines, dialyzers and auxiliary equipment for use during the week. Dialysis and all other treatments are administered by volunteer nurses, physicians and other medical professionals who also serve as chaperones for campers. Through Kidney Kids Camp, children coping with kidney disease from all over the region are given the chance to enjoy a summer camp vacation and participate in exciting outdoor activities they otherwise would not be able to experience. In addition, Kids Camp affords campers an opportunity for peer socialization with both regular YMCA summer campers and other Kidney Kids Camp participants with medical needs similar to their own. Kidney Kids Camp aims to encourage these valuable connections with other children, to foster greater independence with regards to self-care, to increase campers' self-esteem and activity levels, and to provide a safe and oftentimes first experience away from parental worries.
The child's social worker is required to fill out a portion of the application.
Click here for application information.
Family Camp
Camp Jones Gulch
La Honda, CA
Family Camp is a weekend camp for kidney or transplant patients and their families. It gives them an opportunity to bond with other families and share their similar stories with each other. Support systems and life long friendships often develop. Attendees can participate in activities such as archery, canoeing, horseback riding, scenic hikes, arts & crafts and more. For some families, Family Camp will be the only vacation they get throughout the year.
The patient's social worker is asked to fill out part of the application.
Applications will be available here after January 31st, 2009. For more information please contact Patty McCormac at
patty.mccormac@kidney.org or 415-543-3303, ext. 104.
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