NEW YORK, April 24, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Helmsley Charitable Trust today announces that it has approved new grants totaling more than $3.9 million to 29 camp organizations to fund nearly 7,800 "camperships" for primarily underprivileged children who are living with type 1 diabetes (T1D). The grants have been made through the Trust's T1D Program, which is the largest private funder of initiatives to improve the quality of life of people with T1D and advance the development of new therapies and technologies to treat the disease.
This grant initiative supports residential and day camps across 17 states that are tailored exclusively to provide children and young adults, ages 3 to 19, with an experience that combines all of the social and recreational activities that traditional camps offer with the opportunity to learn invaluable techniques and lessons on self-management for T1D. Unlike the intimidating and sterile environments at the hospitals and doctors' offices to which these children are accustomed, the Helmsley-supported camps are child-friendly settings that encourage hands-on learning so that youth can practice new skills and learn how diabetes works in their own bodies. At each camp, these learning moments are overseen closely by an onsite team of medical personnel that includes nurses, doctors and dieticians. As the campers and most counselors also have T1D, the youth who attend form bonds and support networks that last well beyond the camp sessions. For parents and other primary caregivers, camp offers an important respite from the round-the-clock management of their child's chronic illness.
The Trust launched its camp grant initiative as a pilot program in 2010, after due diligence by the Trust's T1D team identified increasingly unmet needs in diabetes education. For example, a 2008 international survey by Novo Nordisk of youth with diabetes, parents, caregivers and pediatric physicians cited a failure of current healthcare systems to provide age-appropriate education and psychosocial support to children with T1D, often resulting in poor control of their disease and long-term health complications.
The Trust initially awarded 7 grants for 8 camps—6 residential and 2 day—for the summer of 2010, which supported 594 youth from a total of 2,449 campers at sites throughout California, New Jersey, Georgia, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania as well as part of North Carolina, Maryland, Delaware, Connecticut and New York City. Based on the initial success, the pilot program was expanded to 16 organizations in summer 2011 and 25 organizations in summer 2012. In the fall of 2012, the Trust launched an RFP with a goal of expanding the reach of this grant program nationwide. With the 29 organizations selected for funding, the Trust is now supporting a range of residential and day summer camps, as well as several weekend and year-long programs. Below is a list of all of the 29 grants made though this latest camp funding initiative. Each grant is for a term of three years.
"After a successful pilot program, we are delighted to expand our T1D campership initiative to serve thousands of additional youth with T1D, especially those who would not otherwise have the means to access the uniquely specialized services and experience that these camps provide," said Dr. Eliot Brenner, director of the Helmsley Charitable Trust's T1D Program. "The camperships are a cornerstone of one of our program's four core strategies, 'Outreach,' through which we look to build the capacity and sustainability of grassroots, community-based organizations that improve the quality of life of those with T1D."
About The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust
The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust aspires to improve lives by supporting effective organizations in a variety of selected areas. Since 2008, when the Trust began its active grantmaking, it has committed more than $800 million. Through the Helmsley Type 1 Diabetes Program, the Trust is the largest private funder of T1D-related research, treatment and support programs. For more information, please visit www.helmsleytrust.org.
2013-15 Helmsley T1D Camp Grant Recipients:
American Diabetes Association
Alexandria, VA
$465,000
The Barton Center for Diabetes Education, Inc.
North Oxford, MA
$195,000
Brainy Camps Association
Washington, DC
$75,000
Camp Hertko Hollow, Inc.
Des Moines, IA
$165,000
Camp Kudzu, Inc.
Atlanta, GA
$195,000
Camp Leo for Children with Diabetes
Olympia, WA
$165,000
Camp Nejeda Foundation
Stillwater, NJ
$165,000
Camp Possibilities Foundation
Wilmington, DE
$105,000
Carilion Medical Center – Camp Too Sweet
Roanoke, VA
$71,700
Central Missouri Diabetic Children's Camp – Camp Hickory
Columbia, MO
$75,000
Central Ohio Diabetes Association, Inc. – Camp Hamwi
Columbus, OH
$105,000
Children's Hospital Medical Center of Akron – Pediatric Diabetes Camp
Akron, OH
$105,000
Chris Dudley Foundation – Chris Dudley Basketball Camp
Portland, OR
$75,000
Diabetes Camping & Educational Services, Inc.
Playa Vista, CA
$130,200
Diabetes Partnership of Cleveland – Camp Ho Mita Koda
Cleveland, OH
$105,000
Diabetes Solutions of Oklahoma, Inc. – Camp Endres
Oklahoma City, OK
$105,000
Diabetic Youth Foundation of Indiana, Inc. – Camp Until A Cure
Indianapolis, IN
$105,000
Diabetes Youth Services – Camp Hot Shots, Winter Camp
Monclova, OH
$105,000
Diabetic Teens Without Boundaries – No Limits Diabetes
Danville, IN
$105,000
Diabetic Youth Foundation – Bearskin Meadow Camp
Concord, CA
$195,000
Florida Camp for Children and Youth with Diabetes
Gainesville, FL
$195,000
Gales Creek Camp Foundation for Children with Diabetes
Portland, OR
$75,000
Idaho Diabetes Youth Programs – Camp Hodia
Boise, ID
$165,000
Kentucky Diabetes Camp for Children – Camp Hendon
Louisville, KY
$75,000
Nevada Diabetes Association for Children and Adults – Camp Buck, Camp Vegas, Teen Camp
Reno, NV
$165,000
New York Presbyterian Hospital – Naomi Berrie Center Day Camp
New York, NY
$75,000
Setebaid Services, Inc.
Winfield, PA
$195,000
Southeastern Diabetes Education Services, Inc. – Camp Seale Harris
Hoover, AL
$165,000
Tanager Place
Cedar Rapids, IA
$75,000