Memorial Book
This book is designed to illustrate the impact of VACC Camp on the many people who have been involved in camp. This includes the campers, their families and the many people who have made VACC Camp possible throughout the past 31 years.
Each spring in Miami, Florida, Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, formerly Miami Children’s Hospital, hosts a free week-long overnight camp for ventilation assisted children (children needing a tracheostomy ventilator, C-PAP, Bi-PAP, or oxygen to support breathing) and their families. Overnight campers come from throughout the United States and internationally. South Florida families join in as day campers.
VACC Camp gives families a fun opportunity to socialize with peers and enjoy activities not readily accessible to technology dependent children. The program includes swimming, field trips to local attractions, campsite entertainment, structured games, “free play”, and more – all to promote family growth and development while enhancing individual self-esteem and social skills. Parents have formal and informal opportunities to network among themselves.
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The impacts that camp has provided to the campers and their families include but are not limited to:
- Networking (Parents) learning from each other and helping each other
- Building relationships with the teen volunteers during the camp that last for life
- Realizing their potential and gaining confidence to reach their fullest potential
- Feeling accepted by society
In addition to the life changing impact on the campers and their families, VACC Camp has just as much of an impact on the people who make camp possible. To run a camp of this size and nature, it takes the involvement of a whole community. The range of people and efforts includes teen and adult volunteers who gives us time, professional volunteers who provide services, supplies, medical equipment, food, etc., donors, sponsors and community partners.
The communities of people who have participated in the preparation and running of camp, plus those who help in making camp possible have been impacted with life changing effects in the form of:
- Change in careers choices
- Enhancing their quality of life and learning to appreciate and be thankful
- Learn to see the person beyond the disability
- Spiritual and emotional growth
The book will be divided by category of participants. Each category will include a definition and a brief description of the people who are included in that category. There will also be a section that will include testimonies and photos from campers, volunteers and sponsors through the years.
The information in the book comes from a combination of those participants that we were able to get in touch with. There are many other camp participants who we were unable to contact. Many will be mentioned in the book. Most of the information was gathered by personal testimonies. For some of the campers that we have not been able to contact, the information was gathered by responses to the questions in their applications.
Earlier we mentioned that our hope in writing and compiling this book was to illustrate the impact that VACC Camp has had on so many people involved in VACC Camp. At this time we would like to convey other purposes and reasons for the book.