Monday, April 20, 2009

Camp del Corazon

Camp del Corazon (Camp of the Heart) was inspired by a patient of Dr. Kevin Shannon. Even though the young man had undergone an operation that dramatically improved the function of his heart, he was still suffering from emotional pain. He was back in school, back in little league baseball, even trying in-line skating for the first time, but he was so embarrassed by his scars that he wouldn’t remove his shirt to be examined by the doctor.
Dr. Shannon felt that if his patient could spend time with other kids who’d had heart surgery, he’d be less self-conscious. He located a camp in Louisiana for kids with heart disease, but the young man’s mother just couldn’t bear to send him so far away. When Dr. Shannon discussed the situation with Lisa Knight, R.N., her solution was simple: “We can do that.” And so they did.
They set about fund-raising to ensure that the medically-supervised summer camp would be free for children ages 7-17 who had heart disease. When Camp del Corazon began in 1995, 49 campers spent three days on beautiful Catalina Island off the coast of Southern California. Over the years, the camp has grown to two five-day sessions with close to 300 campers. Camp del Corazon is staffed completely by volunteer counselors, nurses, and physicians who give of their hearts to help these special kids.
Camp del Corazon has grown into a non-profit organization dedicated to providing experiential programs for children and families living with heart disease. Programs include a free-of-charge, residential summer camp, leadership retreats, educational symposiums and family weekend programs custom designed to enrich the lives of their unique population.
Master of Cermonies- Tom Arnold


This Saturday night is the big fundraiser for this amazing organization. I attended last year at Universal Studios Hollywood Globe Theatre and had a great time. There was a silent auction and a very spirited live auction hosted by actor Tom Arnold. This program was highlighted on the the second to last episode of "ER" and the real campers were invited to appear on the show. My friend Jan's 2 kids were there in many scenes. This year Camp is honoring Dr. Sachs who is the consultant for the show "ER".
Mosaic made by campers raised over $4000.00



If you would like more information about this great program, check out their website.

4 comments:

Joanne Kennedy said...

Oh I remember seeing that on ER. I thought it was such a wonderful idea and I did read where they used real "campers". How fun for them.

This is a wonderful idea. I would have loved to have gone.

You look so pretty in that picture.

Hugs,
Joanne

Mo..."Mo's Cottage" said...

You look fabulous in the picture....what a wonderful idea....
I was looking at the post below and love the beautiful cakes....would be hard to eat them....but I bet they tasted good!!
Hugs,
Mo ;-)

Polka Dot Moon said...

I was a huge ER fan and remember that episode. What a wonderful fundraiser for those children!!!

dana said...

What a worthy cause--what a knockout you are in that photo!! :) Dana