Camp Jones Gulch
La Honda, CA
Dates: July 8, 2007 - July 14, 2007

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.

To get a Kidney Kid's Camp application, click here. In addition to the application, a Dialysis Information Form and Registration Form must be completed. For more information please contact Anna Trujillo at (415)543-3303 ext. 116 or email anna@kidneynca.org, or visit the Camp Jones Gulch website at www.campjonesgulch.org.