Summer Camp

Summer 2024 Information

• Who: Children and teens with childhood onset rheumatic diseases such as juvenile idiopathic arthritis who have completed first grade through high school graduation by the start of camp
• When: June 23-28, 2024
• Where: Joy Outdoor Education Center in Clarksville, OH
• Cost: $878; financial assistance is available; families pay only what they can afford, no child is turned away for financial reasons 
• What: Five-day summer residential camp
• To apply: Download Camp brochure. Complete the registration form in the brochure and mail in to the address on the form with the $25 registration fee to reserve your child’s place in camp. If questions then contact either Elaine Holtcamp at elaine.holtkamp@cchmc.org or Daniel Lovell at daniel.lovell@cchmc.org
• Risk & Release Form: Download form
• Medical Information Form: Download form
• What to pack: Download list

At Camp Wekandu, campers don’t have to worry about being different. Activities are adapted so everyone can take part and can include:

• Archery

• Ropes courses and climbing walls (age and ability adjusted courses available)

• Arthritis education programs

• Arts and crafts

• Campfires

• Rafting | Download Morgan's rafting release form

• Music / singing

• Nature study

• Stargazing

• Swimming (walk-in pool)

• Survival skills training

• Webcasting/Media center

• Boating

• Fishing

• Culinary arts

• Yoga

• Music groups

Camp Staff

Staff for Camp Wekandu includes a full-time camp director, program specialists, summer cabin counselors and auxiliary staff. The counselors are full time counselors at Camp Joy selected from experienced college-age and older individuals with a special interest in working with children with arthritis.

A pediatric rheumatologist from the Rheumatology Division at Cincinnati Children’s and a camp nurse are at camp 24 hours a day. A physical therapist or occupational therapist is at camp every day to provide group exercises, supervision of individual therapy programs and instruction in independent daily living activities.

To help the campers understand and deal with health-related problems more effectively, additional members of the rheumatology staff visit the camp daily to offer medical advice and hold group educational sessions. Rheumatology staff will meet with campers’ parents on the first day of camp to review medical orders. Camp personnel will adhere to all medical orders and activity recommendations sent by the camper’s physician.