 What
is Camp Footloose?
Do you have JIA?
Would you like to come to Camp Footloose?
Keep reading to find out more!
Camp Footloose is an annual camp run
by Arthritis NSW for children aged
8 to 18 with any and
all forms of arthritis. The main aim of
Camp Footloose is to provide a fun
environment
for these children to learn more about
arthritis and ways of coping with it,
meet other children
and teenagers with arthritis, gain and
develop leisure and sporting skills,
increase their
confidence and self esteem, and enable
them to gain some control over their
arthritis
and their lives. Unlike regular school
and holiday camps, Camp Footloose has
a higher
ratio of leaders to children and this enables
the children to participate in activities
they wouldn’t normally be able to.
Camp Footloose is made possible by the
generosity and support of sponsors. If
you would like to help sponsor Camp Footloose, click
here to find out more. When and where is it held?
The dates for the 2007 camp are: Monday 1st
October – Saturday 6th October.
Camp Footloose 2006 was held from Sunday,
1st October to Friday, 6th October
at the Sydney Academy (run by the
NSW Department
of Sport and Recreation) site at
Narrabeen. While we do aim to hold
Camp Footloose
at a different site each year, the
popularity of the Sydney Academy
site amongst those
who attended Camp last year prompted
us to return for a second consecutive
year.
What can I expect at Camp Footloose?
The theme for Camp Footloose 2006 was “Alternative
Options”. The aim was to enable the
children to experience some of the different
techniques that can be used in conjunction
with their conventional medicine based
treatments to help improve their overall
health and assist them in coping with their
arthritis. These included massage, relaxation
techniques, tai chi for arthritis, and
hydrotherapy.
How big is the camp?
In 2006, 54 children and teenagers attended
Camp. 33 of these were from NSW, 2 were
from the ACT and 14 were from Queensland.
For the first time, we also had 5 kids
from Tasmania, including 4 from the one
family. They ranged in age from 8 to
18 although we did have one girl who
was 3 weeks shy of her 8th birthday.
Two of the campers were returning this
year as junior leaders. We also had 10
leaders from TAFE and University (these
included Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy,
and Social Work students), 5 Arthritis
NSW staff and a camp nurse to look after
the kids and help them participate in
the activities.
Find out what the 2006 Camp Footloose
was like first hand - click here to read
the report.
|
