Financial Help for Special Needs Kids to Go to Summer Camp

A whole network of angels helps make this blog easier, and one of them is Tammy Eisenreich of both iTaalk and the Lucas County Board of Developmental Disability.  She just sent along a whole bunch of links with information about financial help for disabled kids to attend summer camp.  

First was a link from the Flying Horse Farms in Mt. Gilead, Ohio, a camp for children from 7-15 who can only attend camp with medical support, so that children with serious medical conditions can enjoy the camp experience.  This camp is FREE OF CHARGE.  They have camp experiences for individual kids and family camp times.  For more information on how to apply and their special camp periods (for instance, one for kids with hematology and oncology needs, another for kids with heart conditions, etc.) see the link.

Here's the rest of Ms. Eisenreich's list:  

www.aboutprojectiam.com Deadline is June 1st and must live in Toledo area.

www.act-today.org (Application open April 1st-April 30th) $100-$5000 with an ASD diagnosis

www.challengedamerica.org  up to $500 for equipment or services

www.dsagt.org $100 towards summer camp for children with Down Syndrome

www.maggiewelby.org (Next award meeting is in July) $250-$2500 grants for many services

www.marksmoney.org $500 grants for quality of life of children with Down Syndrome

www.mccdcares.com must volunteer hours with their organization equivalent to amount granted.

www.mollybear.org grants for children with Trisomy 18

www.msfocus.org many grants for children and adults with Multiple Sclerosis

www.nwoapraxiasupport.org (Deadline to apply is April 14th) up to $1000 for therapies and equipment 

www.parkerspurpose.net up to $1000 pay directly to family

www.prayerchild.org Board meets every month to review requests

www.smallstepsinspeech.org next deadline May 1st for anything speech related (therapy, camp, ABA, apps...)

www.specialkidstherapy.org deadline is May 31st, must have insurance denial

www.thinkalive.org fund activities to further a child's dream

www.umbrellaclub.org helps with physical/mental/emotional needs not being met elsewhere

While some of these are Toledo-area specific, some are nationwide.  Hope this helps someone find funding for a child's camp experience.

Finding the Finances to Send Your Kid to Camp

Summer camp season is coming up, and parents are wondering how to make that experience financially possible for their kids. A number of possibilities spring up. One is to approach the camp itself and see if camp scholarships—camperships—are possible. According to the American Camp Association, over 90% offer some form of financial assistance. Another is to see if your child’s camp care could qualify for a tax deduction.


Other options:

See what type of denominational (religious) camps offer sliding scales and financial help, like the Catholic Youth Organization camps, Lutheran Outdoor Ministry Center the Baptist Camp and Conference Center, or the Jewish Camp Foundation.  There may be others--check with your minister to see if your denomination has youth camps and camperships.

For summer music camp for kids grade 7-11, see the Music Research Society Endowment Fund ( c/o Diana Farris, 1115 SE Brookside Pkwy., Bartlesville, OK 74006, tel.: (918) 333-6719).

If you have a Boy Scout and would like him in a BSA camp program, try the regional Boy Scout Council in your area. They may have camperships.

If your child is disabled or has a medical condition, check Brave Kids to see what camps may be available. They may be free or offer a sliding scale, or scholarships, depending on the camp. Brave Kids deals with national organizations, and local aid programs in Chicago, NY City, LA/Orange, San Francisco, Sacramento, most Florida cities, DC/Baltimore, Buffalo and Syracuse. Go to the search box on the left hand side of the screen, and choose “camps” under resource type. Be sure to click on the box that shows national resources.

Look in the Foundation Directory for Individuals and see if there may be a regional campership program from a local foundation in your area. You can access the FDI at the nearest cooperating collection of the Foundation Center.