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CAMP
HEARTLAND
To fish on a lake. To roast a marshmallow over a campfire and sing silly
songs. To walk a trail with friends through tall trees. This is what Camp
Heartland is all about. But the kids in this camp are not ordinary kids.
They have all, in their young lives, been affected by HIV or AIDS, and
they exhibit a special kind of hope that comes alive at Camp Heartland.
Hope born of fun and friendship and acceptance and love. Hope that comes
when, for the first time in their lives, they are with other children
and can say two words: "me too." Hope that comes when they're
hugged without someone fearing them, when they can put an arm around another
child and say freely, "I have AIDS" or "I have a father
with AIDS" or "I lost my mother to AIDS." It is these powerful
and emotionally healing experiences that set Camp Heartland apart.
 It
began in 1991 when Neil Willenson, a 20-year-old college student, met
Nile Wolff, 7, a youngster with AIDS. It was during the height of "AIDS
hysteria," and the people in Nile's town were up in arms because
the boy wanted to attend kindergarten at the public school. Neil realized
then that kids like Nile needed a place free of such turmoil, a place
where a kid living with AIDS could just be a kid. With a few dozen fellow
students, Neil raised enough money in the next two years to start Camp
Heartland at a rented campground in Wisconsin. That summer of 1993, 73
kids with AIDS had the time of their lives at a camp set up just for them.
Now Camp Heartland has a home of its own and has become the world's largest
camping program for kids affected by HIV or AIDS. It is situated on 80
gorgeous acres in Willow River, Minnesota, with access to three lakes
and miles of wilderness trails. It is a light in the darkness for kids
who live every day with chronic illness and discrimination.
Perhaps no activity at Camp Heartland better fulfills Neil Willenson's
compassionate efforts than the simple candlelight service that ends each
camping season. One hundred children gather on a hillside by the lake.
The sky darkens and each child floats a small candle on the water. Innermost
thoughts and feelings are revealed. Tears flow freely for all the sadness,
the loneliness, and the injustice. But hope and wishes drift shining across
the lake. A hundred tiny flames beneath the twinkling stars. And the whispered
motto of Camp Heartland on everyone's lips:
I wish to keep on hoping. I hope to keep on wishing.
Visit Camp Heartland's
website
Camp
Heartland's wish list
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