Camp Sweeney
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
summer camp
Summer camp
Summer camp is a supervised program for children or teenagers conducted during the summer months in some countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer camp are known as campers....
located near Gainesville
Gainesville, Texas
Gainesville is a city in and the county seat of Cooke County, Texas, United States. The population was 15,538 at the 2000 census.-History:...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. It is primarily for children with type 1 diabetes
Diabetes mellitus type 1
Diabetes mellitus type 1 is a form of diabetes mellitus that results from autoimmune destruction of insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas. The subsequent lack of insulin leads to increased blood and urine glucose...
and their siblings, and has been in operation since the summer of 1950. The camp was founded by Dr. J. Shirley Sweeney, a Dallas endocrinologist who envisioned a positive program to encourage diabetic children.
Today, the camp offers activities typical of a summer sports camp, including swimming, hiking
Hiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
, archery
Archery
Archery is the art, practice, or skill of propelling arrows with the use of a bow, from Latin arcus. Archery has historically been used for hunting and combat; in modern times, however, its main use is that of a recreational activity...
, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
, waterpark, flag football
Flag football
Flag football is a version of Canadian football or American football that is popular worldwide. The basic rules of the game are similar to those of the mainstream game , but instead of tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must remove a flag or flag belt from the ball carrier to end...
and arts and crafts
Arts and crafts
Arts and crafts comprise a whole host of activities and hobbies that are related to making things with one's hands and skill. These can be sub-divided into handicrafts or "traditional crafts" and "the rest"...
. Its many facilities and day to day activities are designed with the diabetic child in mind. It is one of the few camps in the country designed specifically for children with diabetes, and its activities are centered around the ideas of building self-confidence and improving the overall health of each child that attends a session. This includes encouraging each child to develop his or her own healthy habits and routines so that they can live long and healthy lives.
The camp serves children ages 5 to 18 and divides them into age appropriate cabins for male and female campers. There are currently 4 male cabins and 4 female cabins. The campers get to choose which activities they participate in during the day. These fun activities range from extremely active classes to less physical, but equally fun passive activities. The camp also pioneers some of its own unique activities, such as radio broadcasting
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
, photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
, website design, video production
Video production
Video production is videography, the process of capturing moving images on electronic media even streaming media. The term includes methods of production and post-production...
, and many others.
The purpose of Camp Sweeney is to help children with diabetes learn healthy habits that they can continue after they have left camp, and to build lasting relationships with other children dealing with the same problems that come with having diabetes. Extensive research studies conducted by the camp's parent, the Southwestern Diabetic Foundation, show that children and young adults attending Camp Sweeney lower their HBA1C (blood glucose average) by approx. 1 full point after attending the normal 20-day session. Beyond the purpose of better diabetes management, however, Camp Sweeney has the deeper and more extensive purpose of building self-confidence and true friendships that last a lifetime.
Director
The current camp director is Dr. Ernie M. Fernandez. He is an endocrinologist as was the first director of Camp Sweeney and he spends the time that he is not working in his own clinic, devoting his time and money to the diabetics in his care at camp.Counselors
The Camp Sweeney counselors are college-age individuals who are recruited from universities and medical programs all over the country. Great care is taken to select only the best, most responsible staff members who have a thorough knowledge of diabetes and working with children with special needs. There is a ratio of one counselor to every five campers at any given time, so immediate care is available around the clock. Each camper is also assigned a special counselor at the beginning of each session who serves as that campers "big sibling." These counselors work with a group of about 4 campers and spend time daily with the campers in a more personal setting doing activities, having discussion, and getting to know other group members. This "big sibling" also keeps in close contact with parents of their campers throughout the session through weekly letters updating them on their child's condition and accomplishments.Medical Staff
Camp Sweeney also employs 24-hour medical staff that includes various medical students and physicians. These individuals work exclusively to provide medical care, insulin dosing, blood sugar corrections, nighttime blood sugar monitoring, and emergency care to every camper when needed. The Camp Sweeney Hospital offers some of the most state of the art medical care available in a camp setting. These medical staff members also conduct a daily "medical lecture" with each age group of campers, instructing them about how best to care for their medical condition. These classes are fun, fast-paced, and interesting.KPFC FM
Camp Sweeney is home to an FCC licensed non-commercial radio station, KPFC-FMKPFC (FM)
KPFC is a radio station broadcasting a Variety format. Licensed to Callisburg, Texas, USA, the station serves the Cooke County area. The station is currently owned by Camp Sweeney....
. KPFC-FM transmits on the 91.9 FM frequency and its translator, K206CD, transmits on the 89.1 FM frequency. It also operates as a live internet station and can be heard worldwide online. In addition to a 24-hour mix of music and news programming, many of the major camp activities throughout the summer are broadcast live for parents and friends of campers. These broadcasts are also available as live and on-demand video podcasts as part of the Camp Sweeney Video Production program. Camp Sweeney is the only camp in the United States to be granted an FCC-FM licence to operate such a station. Both KPFC and the video production program operate out of studios located on the campgrounds. KPFC also operates a satellite studio at Callisburg High School. During camping sessions, campers who select "Broadcasting" or "Video Production" as one of their daily activities play a major role in the programming of the station by producing various shows, news reports, weather forecasts, and other video and music programming. This is a great starting point for those interested in entering the radio or television industry in the future; several former campers and staffers have gone on to study RTV at college and work for other radio and television stations throughout the country.