Please help me support Camp Nejeda, a home away from home for kids with type 1 diabetes!

I know what a difference Camp Nejeda makes in the lives of kids with Type 1 diabetes!

Every year, I see the impact and the difference this camp makes in the lives of kids, parents, and families. It’s nothing short of miraculous. Kids who feel alone and like no “gets it”, find their dia-besties at camp. They bond in a way that changes their lives—forever.

Unless you live or work in the Type 1 population, it’s hard to understand just what these kids and families go through.

There’s isolation, anxiety, depression, fear, denial, worry, grief for the perceived loss of health and a life envisioned now going to be different. Not to mention 4-6 insulin injections a day, carb counting, high and low blood sugars, technological devices, Endocrinology appointments, countless hours of diabetes education, and more! It’s hard at best, completely overwhelming at its’ worst, and there’s no break or vacation. It’s the ‘new normal’ of daily life.

For all these reasons (and a thousand more), is why places like Camp Nejeda need to exist. It gives every child and adult that step on the grounds, a chance to belong. To find others going through the same struggles. To learn new skills and about new information from others. To find their tribe who “just get it”. To be accepted without judgment. To be seen. To be heard. To matter.

I have seen the camp experience completely transform lives—in 1 to 2 weeks. How? My best example is the angry and upset camper. The one who is coming for the first time and crying and arguing with their parents they don’t want to be here. The tears, the yelling, the frustration, the fighting—it’s all real. They barely talk to us on day 1 (or worse yet, they don’t have polite things to say). You can feel the anger simmering off them. They are not just angry about being at camp and feeling like their parents are “dumping them”, but deeper, they’re angry about diabetes. That even having this, is the reason they are here. Their friends are spending summer at home or going to the beach, or doing other cool things, and they’re stuck at stupid diabetes camp. Where they are going to learn skills and education for their disease, but also be surrounded by other kids with diabetes. Who wants to do that during the summer? Total. Nightmare.

Plus, it’s unfair. Why them? Why did this happen to them? Unfortunately, that’s not something we ever have an answer to. But, what we do have an answer to, is making it a little better. Making the world seem not so alone. Giving them a chance to be “normal” and act like kids. Where blood sugars and carbs are discussed regularly. Where no one taking out an insulin pen or pump gets stared at, because everyone is doing it. Where no bats an eye at hearing alarms or beeps from devices, instead joking whose it is this time. Where high and low blood sugars are more common than scraped knees and just part of the normal day. Where not having diabetes makes you the odd man out, because only the cool kids have diabetes 😊 Where they don’t have to worry about their diabetes at all, because all camp staff take care of that. Their biggest worry is who is going to win the evening activity that night. Or what’s for bedtime snack. Or which one of their friends is going on the hiking, rafting, or water park trip. Is tomorrow zipline day or high ropes? No, maybe it’s archery or the bonfire. Maybe since it's raining, there will be a dance party in the dining hall or movie night instead.

It all doesn’t matter because after just 1 meal at camp, in the dining hall, singing camp songs and spending time with their cabin mates, they forget they were angry. They forget they’re supposed to be mad and mean. They forget everything, except that, maybe diabetes doesn’t have to mean I’m alone. And maybe, just maybe, this might be alright. That I’m going to be alright.

It's these kids that we do this for. Why we donate, and why we come to camp. They need Camp Nejeda, more than they need us. To watch the angry, hurt, upset camper, find their people, and make friends, fills your soul with a feeling that is hard to describe. It’s bliss. It’s contentment. It’s joy. It’s purpose.

I have seen this many times over my 10 years at Camp Nejeda, and this summer, I watched it again. One camper in particular. Probably the toughest camper I had ever seen in all my years. So angry and upset, crying, and so hurt inside. It only took 1 meal. One meal with other kids just like them, and the anger started to fade. No more eye rolls, no more yelling. And after lunch? Already walking with 2 cabin mates to the swing set and asking what they wanted to do that afternoon and about clothes, Crocs (a camp mainstay), and music. I saw inclusion and belonging right before my eyes and I knew in that moment, they were going to be alright.

The tears on day one showed back up on the last day, but for a completely different reason. These were tears of, ‘I don’t want to leave’. Both parents could not believe it and even asked staff what we did with their child. Nothing we said, it’s just the Nejeda effect. That camper came back in 1 week for another session and made even more friends. We technically didn’t have room in the cabin, but we made room. We would never turn one of our own away. Both parents told us how camp changed their child’s life and it was like having a “new kid at home”. We just smile, because we know. We know this place is magical.

I can’t think of a better way to start off Diabetes Awareness Month than making a donation to Camp Nejeda. I set a lofty goal this year of raising $2250. It’s the cost of a 2 week stay for a camper. My goal is to raise enough so that at least 1 more kid can come experience the life changing Nejeda effect.

And even if I don’t meet my goal, it doesn’t matter, because every dollar, every penny, goes right to the kids. All donations subsidize the cost for ALL campers.

Please help me make an impact in the lives of children and families impacted by Type 1 diabetes, and donate. I promise, no donation is too small, and every dollar counts.

They say Disney World is the most magical place on Earth, but those of us here know it’s actually a little north of there, in Stillwater, NJ, at Camp Nejeda.

Thank you!

Camp Nejeda 's 2021 Walkathon/100 Years of insulin - 100 years of life! - YouTube

Camp Nejeda Walkathon 2020 - YouTube

Camp Nejeda: A Lifelong Experience - YouTube