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The Circle of Life Camp
Until there is a cure ... there's the Circle of Life Center
Education and psychosocial support for children with diabetes to live happy and healthy livesThe 13th Annual Circle of Life Camp summer camping season will be held at Camp Scully on Snyder's Lake in North Greenbush, NY. In addition, the camp is offering its first Annual Circle of Life Family Camp Weekend at the Great Escape Lodge and Indoor Waterpark in Queensbury, NY. Financial assistance is available and is determined on an individual basis. For additional information about the camp, visit our website at www.circleoflifecamp.org. The 2008 camping sessions are:
2008 Camping Sessions
Winter Session:
The Circle of Life Family Camp Weekend
For families with diabetes
March 14-16, 2008
Six Flags Great Escape Lodge in Albany, New York
Family tuition: $285 / nightSummer Sessions:
Session 1: August 15 - 18, 2008 (for boys & girls ages 13-16)
The camper tuition is $350.Session 2: August 22 - 24, 2008 (for boys & girls ages 8-12)
The camper tuition is $300.General Information About the Circle of Life Camp
The Circle of Life Camp was founded in 1996 as a not-for-profit resident camp for children and adolescents with diabetes. The camp provides the fundamental, age-appropriate diabetes education and social support essential for adolescents to properly manage their diabetes and cope with their disease. The campers experience a unique opportunity to interact in a relaxed and supportive atmosphere, which fosters understanding, acceptance of their condition, and proper emotional development. They are able to share their knowledge, experience, and concerns as well as participate in educational sessions and recreational camping activities.
The Circle of Life Camp's philosophy is to promote the "normalcy" of diabetes among the campers. The camp focuses on fun: playing sports, swimming, making crafts, hiking, bonfires and canoeing, rather than diabetes. Diabetes education is informal between counselors and campers, which is the most effective way children learn. Everyone at the camp gives themselves injections, monitors their blood glucose and learns to make healthy meal choices together. The prejudicial labeling term "diabetic" is banished from the vocabulary of everyone in attendance; the campers and staff are people with diabetes, not "diabetics."
The camp is supported and staffed by volunteer medical professionals and additional trained volunteer counseling staff. All medical procedures are supervised by medical staff certified in diabetes education and the camp menus are planned by a dietician, CDE. The camper to counselor ratio is 3:1. Financial assistance is available, allowing children from low-income families to attend. The camp relies on contributions from individuals, businesses and civic organizations to keep the cost for campers at an affordable price. Enrollment is strictly on a first come first serve basis, regardless of health status. The camp also seeks new and updated product donations from medical supply companies, such as glucose meters and lancet devices to distribute to campers. This ensures that all campers, including those who ordinarily would not be able to afford such equipment, leave the camp having the proper equipment to manage their diabetes.
Due to the exponential number of children diagnosed with diabetes each year, the demand for our program has also significantly increased. In addition to the already challenging normal developmental processes of growing up, children with diabetes have to balance the daily demands of disease-management into their lives. Unfortunately, many youngsters have difficulty coping with this chronic disease and can suffer physical and psychological complications. To accommodate this increasing healthcare need, the Circle of Life Camp is currently fundraising to expand into the comprehensive Circle of Life Center that will include a permanent site for the camp that would offer year-round camp programming, as well as a residential treatment facility for children with diabetes. The residential treatment facility would offer children with diabetes the medical, psychological, and social support they need to manage their disease, cope with it and the demands of adolescence, and overcome psychological problems while receiving the education to maintain their academic standing in school. The Circle of Life Center, the first one of its kind in the world, can help meet the needs of these children and families. Additional information about the Circle of Life Camp can be found in the book entitled, Growing Up With Diabetes: What Children Want Their Parents to Know, by Dr. Alicia McAuliffe. For information about the Circle of Life Camp please visit our website at: www.circleoflifecamp.org, or to receive an application contact:
Form More Information
For more information about the Circle of Life Camp please visit our website at www.circleoflifecamp.org, or to receive an application contact:Circle of Life Camp, Inc.
5 Woodridge Drive
Loudonville, NY 12211
Phone: (518) 459-3622
Fax: (518) 489-9889
E-mail: circlecamp@aol.com
Website: www.circleoflifecamp.orgFebruary 12, 2008
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Last Updated: Tue Feb 12 21:14:57 2008
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