Diabetes Canada recently announced that two of its D-Camps in the Maritimes will merge into one, effective 2018. Camp Red Fox on Prince Edward Island and Camp Dia-Best in New Brunswick will merge into one camp located in Barss Corner, Nova Scotia.
“This has been an incredibly difficult decision and we understand that no parent or care-giver would want to see the camp closest to them affected by this news,” says Andrew Young, vice-president, programs, services & product development with Diabetes Canada. “We believe we must make this change in order to ensure the long-term sustainability of offering D-Camps programs, says Young. “We looked at our camps across Canada and how we could provide the best service possible for them with the funds available. Our goal is to provide children with type 1 diabetes with a unique camp experience and, while it is not easy to make these decisions, we felt that this would best allow us to do that.”
Through this process our aim is to continue to provide a high quality and accessible experience for our Maritime families. These changes will make the service and accessibility levels in-line with the high quality services we provide in other areas of the country. While we know that families are upset or disappointed, we believe that over the long-run this new approach will allow us to provide a better and enriching service.
Our camp team is already working on ensuring camper experiences continue to be exciting, fun and equally as fulfilling, despite being held in a neighboring province. To ensure we continue to serve the type 1 diabetes (T1D) youth community in the Maritimes, the updated programming is below:
- All 13 & 14 year olds in the Maritimes will have the opportunity to attend Camp Morton, our specialized program for teens with T1D.
- All 7-12 year olds in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island will attend camp in Nova Scotia (August 21-26, 2018). This week will be called Camp Dia-Best.
- All Maritime 15 & 16 year old participants of the Leadership Development program will attend both Camp Lion Maxwell and Camp Dia-Best.
We will do everything we can to offer opportunities for all current and future Maritime D-Camps families to have a camp to call home. This includes:
- Offering transportation from New Brunswick and P.E.I.
- Continuing to offer financial assistance
- Providing campers with the same high quality of care and support while attending D-Camp. There will be many returning faces from our health-care team, along with our well-loved and familiar programming.
We look forward to seeing our campers and health-care professionals this summer and appreciate the support during this transition of our D-Camps program.
About Diabetes Canada
Diabetes Canada is the registered national charitable organization that is making the invisible epidemic of diabetes visible and urgent. Diabetes Canada partners with Canadians to End Diabetes through:
- Resources for health care professionals on best practices to care for people with diabetes;
- Advocacy to governments, schools and workplaces; and
- Funding world-leading Canadian research to improve treatments and find a cure.
For more information, visit diabetes.ca or call 1-800-BANTING (226-8464).