Student Contributor -A. Foley
Camp Stix is an organization that offers the opportunity for children who have Type 1 Diabetes to get a camping experience with other children who also have diabetes. Campers receive the necessary resources to mentally and physically overcome the everyday challenges of having diabetes. This camp is completely volunteer run and is an amazing experience and resource for both children with diabetes as well as their families.
Along with many volunteers, local physicians, health care providers, diabetes educators, and dieticians are all a part of this program to ensure a safe and fun experience for the kids. This helps the families and children be at ease and fully enjoy the camp without worrying about how their disease may interfere. The organization relies on donations and volunteers to ensure that kids can participate no matter how much of the cost their parents are able to pay. According to their website, they want to support families with newly diagnosed children, provide an opportunity to make friends and eliminate isolation, foster growth and resilience, and enable young adults with diabetes to live life to the fullest by taking control of their disease. When you partner with this organization, you are allowing students to take a part in supporting other students and peers that struggle with this disease.
Teachers and students could partner with this organization by running a fundraiser to raise money to donate to the camp, or possibly by collecting items that could be donated as auction items for their annual dinner auction. They host this auction annually either in person or virtually to raise money to support the program. To get the details about acceptable items for auction you can reach out to the auction inquiries email: auction@stixdiabetes.org. If you would like to donate money that the class has raised, you can get confirmation on the best way to donate by reaching out to the director of community outreach at the email listed here and on the website. A third option is to check their website to see if their e-store has available merchandise for purchase and involve students and their families in purchasing some items to support the camp.
