Circle of life camp

The Circle of Life Camp is a non-profit organization resident camp for children and adolescents with diabetes mellitus, founded in 1996 by Dr. Alicia McAuliffe-Fogarty.

History

The Circle of Life Camp, located on Lake Snyder outside of Albany, New York, was founded by 18 year old Alicia McAuliffe, who was a juvenile with diabetes since age 11, in order to provide a camping experience to children living with diabetes. This 18 year old had found that most sleep away camps, because of the intense supervision required, would not allow children with diabetes to attend camp. And at the time, diabetes camps were not really camps but summertime formal classroom training. It was Dr. McAuliffe-Fogarty's intention to create a camping environment where children with diabetes could share the same camp experience as children living without diabetes, with as little formal training as possible. In 1996, Dr. McAuliffe's vision was frowned upon by even the most renowned diabetes camps as it was thought that the training these children needed could not come outside of the formal classroom. Dr. McAuliffe-Fogarty persisted in teaching children through informal games and settings where they could learn while enjoying a camping experience and today, most diabetes camps now operate as does the Circle of Life Camp, allowing children with diabetes to just be children, that happen to have diabetes.

In 1996, the Circle of Life Camp started with only 22 campers and several volunteers (including local nurses and doctors). To date, the camp has helped 1000's of children and supports almost 600 children throughout each year.

About the Camp

The Circle of Life Camp provides fundamental age-appropriate diabetes education and social support essential for adolescents to properly manage their diabetes. The campers experience the opportunity to interact with other children dealing with the same condition in a relaxed and supportive atmosphere, which fosters understanding, acceptance of their condition, and proper emotional development. The camp allows young children living with diabetes to share their knowledge, experience, and concerns as well as participate in educational sessions and traditional camping activities. Over the past twelve years, the camp has experienced tremendous growth, with campership enrollment increasing over 600% and membership extending internationally.

The Camp also runs weekend retreats throughout the year to help teach parents of children with diabetes and the children living with diabetes, how to communicate better and to help each other through this illness. Drawing on Dr. McAuliffe-Fogarty's own childhood experiences and those of the many children and young adults she’s counseled, these programs help to make the parents understand: How children feel when they’re diagnosed, why diabetes is a bigger adjustment for them than for their child, how to encourage a healthy approach to diabetes, the importance of diabetes education, how to make their child’s life as normal as possible, dealing with outside forces (school, day care, relatives, etc.), and eliminating the power struggle for independence in adolescence.

About the Founder

Since starting the camp at age 18, Dr. Alicia McAuliffe-Fogarty, has become a nationally known expert on juvenile diabetes and a clinical child health psychologist. She completed her Pediatric Psychology Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the Yale School of Medicine at Yale University and was the recipient of a grant for her research, Psychosocial adjustment and regimen adherence in adolescents with diabetes and The effects of a diabetes camping experience on the psychosocial adjustment and regimen adherence of adolescents with diabetes. Dr. McAuliffe-Fogarty travels the United States to speak at conferences and seminars regarding diabetes research and new developments.

Dr. McAuliffe-Fogarty is an accomplished author of Growing Up With Diabetes: What Children Want Their Parents to Know, published by John Wiley & Sons Inc, which is distributed by the JDRF Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation to all new member and the co-author of Camps and Mental Health, An Issue of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics (The Clinics: Internal Medicine) with Karen P. Carlson.

Spokesperson

Kristanna Loken, an American actress most famous for her role as the female terminator in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines is the official spokesperson for the camp as well as a volunteer at the camp teaching acting lessons to young campers.

Recognition

The Johnson & Johnson Corporation has chosen Danielle Unser, Secretary of the Board of Directors and The Circle of Life Camp as the recipient of their Volunteer Recognition Program for 2008. The Circle of Life Camp received a donation from Johnson & Johnson as part of their recognition.

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