Camp for All 2 U coming to Texas Children’s Hospital

Sitting around a campfire with new friends, the smell of marshmallows roasting over a flame, and singing and dancing along to camp songs. The days and nights at camp are filled with canoeing, archery and the feeling of butterflies in your stomach as you zip line through the trees. Every day is a chance to step outside of your comfort zone and try something new. A week at camp is a week when worries and fears are forgotten and new friends and memories are made.

For many children their current medical condition prevents them from experiencing the wonders of camp. Therefore, Texas Children’s Hospital is hosting its first Camp for All 2 U and adapting camp activities for patients and their siblings to enjoy in the hospital setting. From Monday, July 25, to Friday, July 29, you might see patients racing down the Chevron Bridge in canoes or practicing their aim as they try out archery in the Child Life Zone. Throughout the week, patients and their siblings will be able to leave behind the stress and anxiety of being in the hospital and focus on trying new things and making memories with new friends at camp.

Child Life Specialist Sarah Coltman has been collaborating with Camp For All to bring this experience to our patients and families and said Camp 2 U will benefit our patients and their siblings by providing unique opportunities for play and normalization in the hospital setting.

“Camp 2 U will give children the chance to escape the feeling of being in the hospital and allow them to play and just be kids” she said. “It also gives them the therapeutic benefit of meeting and socializing with children who are going through similar situations.”

Camp 2 U will host morning and afternoon activities with various camp games and activities being held throughout the hospital. If you see campers participating in a relay race down the Chevron Bridge, searching for items on a scavenger hunt in West Tower or singing camp songs in the Child Life Zone, feel free to join in or cheer them on.

Camp 2 U understands the importance of maintaining high quality medical care for our patients and families and is flexible in ensuring children are able to come and go as they need. If patients need to return from camp throughout the day, this can easily be coordinated by contacting your child life staff or calling the Child Life Zone at Ext. 6-1612.

For more information or for questions about Camp For All 2 U, please contact Coltman at sccoltma@texaschildrens.org or Ext. 3-4222.

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