Camp Hope is for diabetic children and youth 7-18 years. At Camp Hope, we offer a residential setting with log cabins, each with its own fireplace. The counselor to camper ratio is 1:4. We provide a medical team of physicians, physician assistants, nurses (several of whom are Certified Diabetic Educators), and pharmacists.
We provide education on diabetes self-care with focus on the emotional and psychological obstacles which need to be removed for our individual success. We enjoy a week of fun activities which include swimming, hiking, miniature golf, special events, field trips, bowling, games, competitive sports, and creative arts and crafts.
With hundreds of camps for children with diabetes throughout the country, why should you consider Camp Hope? Because we know of no other camp whoseprimaryfocus is on the emotional and psychological aspects of diabetes in young people. We prepare them to live with diabetes, not to simply control the disease.
The Camp Hope philosophy centers around peer association and the learning of life skills that are not driven by diabetes, but make room for control of diabetes in each day. Our campers learn that the world is full of obstacles to success, and diabetes need only be a fact of life, not a stumbling block or impassable barrier.
At a meeting of a newly formed ADA Chapter in the fall of 1978, Steve and Nancy Johnson were asked what they would like to see developed in the Casper, Wyoming area to support diabetes education. Nancy believed one of the greatest influences in her life was attending a summer camp for young people with diabetes first as a camper, then as a junior counselor, and finally, a counselor. So they proposed a camp, funding was offered from a local source, and Camp Hope was born in June of 1979. Camp Hope was initially made available to children aged 7 to 18 from the State of Wyoming. However, as our reputation spread we have had campers from Colorado, Utah, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Washington, California, Arizona, Illinois, and Texas.
