Type One Diabetes Camp Scholarships

TOPP’s Camp Scholarship Program is a lottery-based scholarship for families wishing to send their children with type 1 diabetes (T1D) to specialized diabetes summer camps. TOPP will be providing scholarships to Camp Freedom, located at Camp Kweebec in Schwenksville, PA, or Camp Nejeda, located in Newton, NJ. Because the daily management of T1D is complex, children and teens with T1D are often unable to attend traditional overnight camps. These camps provide the necessary 24-hour medical attention that living with T1D requires.

TOPP will be awarding a limited number of aid scholarships for Camp Freedom and Camp Nejeda to T1D youth from Bucks County, Montgomery County, and Philadelphia County, PA. The scholarship amount is $500 and the winners will be randomly selected. All eligible applicants will be entered into a lottery drawing and have an equal chance of winning. The application deadline is April 30th, 2023. For more information about this program and to access the scholarship application, please visit www.toppfoundation.org.

Camp Freedom, run by the American Diabetes Association, and Camp Nejeda, owned and operated by the Camp Nejeda Foundation, provide the necessary medical attention and offers children and teens with T1D the unique opportunity to attend camp with other kids who share the same daily challenges. These camps can be the best medicine for kids with T1D. They experience the fun of overnight summer camp in a medically safe environment while finding lifelong friendships and developing skills to help them manage their condition. Also, since experts are onsite 24 hours a day to provide medical attention, parents can feel confident letting their children go away to camp. This is often the first-time parents feel comfortable leaving their child and one of the few times parents can have a much-needed respite from diabetes-related worries.

Unlike the more common type 2 diabetes, T1D is an autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system destroys the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. There is currently no cure, and its causes are not fully known. People with T1D are dependent on injected or pumped insulin and need to carefully regulate their blood sugar to stay alive. Living with T1D is a full-time balancing act requiring constant attention and meticulous planning to avoid acute, life-threatening hypoglycemia or the long-term damage done by hyperglycemia.

TOPP Foundation is a local nonprofit founded in 2016 by three mothers who each have a son with T1D. TOPP’s mission is to support T1D families and to raise awareness and funds for cure research. TOPP Foundation is 100% funded by donations and relies on the support of generous individuals and businesses in our community. If you would like to donate to this program to help more local T1D youth experience the joy of summer camp, please contact Christine at christine@toppfund.org or donate directly from the TOPP website at www.toppfoundation.org.