Michigan summer camp welcomes children with serious health conditions
(CBS DETROIT) - Located in Pinckney, North Star Reach is a camp for children with serious health challenges and their families.
The fully accessible camp aims to offer the classic summer camp experience to each child, regardless of condition, at no cost.
"We want our kids and our families to feel like they have some choices in the world, because oftentimes, this population, everyone tells them what to do — especially in medical care," said camp director Patrick Smith.
Doctors and nurses volunteer their time to staff the camp when it's in session.
"It just makes my heart so full to be able to be with these kids and just see the joy on their face every day to be welcomed with, 'The nurses are here!' in the morning — it just makes your heart shine," said nurse Lindsey Prentice.
Its medical center has all the necessary lifesaving equipment as a hospital, so even children with complex needs can have an experience like anyone else.
"Say, for instance, it's cardiac week," said board chair Sheri Mark. "They've had cardiac surgeries; maybe they've had a heart transplant, and they get to camp, and they've never been out of their doctor's or their parents' care, and they're a little bit nervous, and they look at the kid next to them, and they go, 'Oh, hey, you want to see my scar?' And they lift their shirt up, and the kid's like, 'Hey, I got one just like that!' And in five minutes they're just like, 'Let's go swimming!' So, they totally forget about their scars."
North Star Reach launched in 2016 and runs year-round programs.
The University of Michigan leases the land to the nonprofit for $1 a year, and it's fully run by donations.
Though North Star Reach has served thousands of campers and families, the camp's leaders said there's still a lot more work they can do.
"There's about 75,000 children who could use a place like this right here in Michigan," said camp CEO J.J. Lewis. "That's right here in Michigan. And we've served 3,000 of them."
During our visit, the camp was being rented by the Friendship Circle, which provides support and assistance to individuals with special needs across Metro Detroit.
"It's incredible watching these campers just enjoy a typical camp experience with their friends in their cabins, with their groups," said staff support member Mushky Zubov. "The lake, the waterfront, the pool, art and bonfires, and just kind of watching them have this typical camp experience with the volunteers, with their friends, with the incredible staff. It's been amazing to watch."
"North Star Reach camp allows the kids to just be kids," said Mark. "And like Paul Newman says, to 'raise a little hell' without worrying about their medical needs. And their medical needs are 100% met here, but the kids don't have to worry about it."
"We see confidence, we see creativity, we see belief and belonging, and I think that that is really something that we all strive for is kind of that sense of self but also feeling that we're part of the community," said Smith. "So, when I think about the number of campers that have come through this program and have grown in ways to become amazing young people, it just makes me feel good about what we do here."