Camp Simcha Special was created in 2001 to meet the medical and social needs of children and teens with disparate chronic and genetic ailments. It is an oasis of fun, friendship, love, and hope for children and teens, ages 8 � 18, whose illnesses require continual medical management.
Located on the 125-acre Jack and Moishe Horn Campus in Glen Spey, New York, Camp Simcha gives kids whose illnesses make them different from their peers a chance to be normal and among their peers.
Every day brings something new and exciting for campers. Campers enjoy traditional camp activities, including mini-golf, pottery, crafts workshops, modified sports, color war, and talent shows. There�s also an on-site arcade, computer-games center, library, and screening room. The magnificent pool with innovative ramp and water-submersible wheelchairs means that every child can go swimming. Our waterfront boasts the Chai Seas motorboat, a pontoon boat capable of holding an entire bunk, including wheelchair-dependent children, paddle and bumper boats. And don�t forget the special events: helicopter rides, concerts, and interactive games and shows.
At Camp Simcha Special, wheelchairs, medical equipment, prostheses, gastric tubes or oxygen are no impediment to fun and friendship. Kids can share their hopes, fears and triumphs with friends, or just forget about illness for a while. Most importantly, campers are lavished with love in a positive environment that imbues them with the confidence and fortitude they need to navigate the forthcoming year's trials.
Every day brings something new and exciting for campers. Campers enjoy traditional camp activities, including mini-golf, pottery, crafts workshops, modified sports, color war, and talent shows. There�s also an on-site arcade, computer-games center, library, and screening room. The magnificent pool with innovative ramp and water-submersible wheelchairs means that every child can go swimming. Our waterfront boasts the Chai Seas motorboat, a pontoon boat capable of holding an entire bunk, including wheelchair-dependent children, paddle and bumper boats. And don�t forget the special events: helicopter rides, concerts, and interactive games and shows.
Medical Center
• Medical program supervised by:
Dr Robert van Amerongen:
Director of Pediatric Emergency Service
Department of Emergency medicine New York Methodist Hospital/Brooklyn NY
Assistant Professor Of Emergency Medicine in Clinical Pediatrics
Weill Medical College of Cornell University
• Health Center on-site staffed by pediatric emergency room specialists, nurses, EMTs, social worker and physical therapist.
• An acute transport ambulance is on-site at all times, and accompanies campers on any trips. A Medevac helicopter is on call, and can
reach camp within five minutes.
The Staff
Our staff is legendary. Applicants are carefully screened, and staff members carefully trained and matched to campers. A staff to camper ratio of 2:1 assures that children receive the personal attention they need to thrive. Best of all, our staff makes sure that the wonder of camp never ends: they maintain ongoing relationships with campers throughout the year as Big Brothers and Big Sisters. As one counselor said, �Becoming a Camp Simcha counselor means being a friend for life.�
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