A Poem from Uki
Uki, middle row - far left, with her cabin at the 2021 virtual camp.
Virtual Merry Heart Camp
Giggles and humor
Fill the computer
As we sit in our room
With our friends all on Zoom
We’re all brought together
With one big tether
And that is our hearts
With all different parts
At a virtual
Merry Heart camp
First a chaotic camp song
— what could go wrong?!
Then time in our “cabins”
The girls always blabbin’
About future camp pranks
Kiera says “no thanks”
At a virtual
Merry Heart camp
Back in the main room -
Remember we’re on Zoom
Did you all hear,
I’m “Max is weird”
Yells the boy whose name
Is never the same
“Your camp names are cute,
Now Make sure you’re on mute!”
At a virtual
Merry Heart camp
A Heart Talk with Dr. Huang
And another silly song
Then we’re saying goodbye
But campers, don’t cry
Because we’ll see you next year
With much joy and cheer
At an IN-PERSON
Merry Heart camp
Mayme Marshall, MD: “Camp Is A Magical Place”
Mayme Marshall, MD, left, with the nursing staff at MHCC in 2019.
Camp is a magical place where kids are free from parents' expectations; they can be silly, brave, and adventurous. Becoming a camp doctor has always been a #careergoal for me! My dream came true Summer of 2019, when I was the camp doctor for Merry Heart Children's Camp!
As a physician, the best part of camp is watching our patients just be kids. I love hearing the incessant laughter, watching the triumph of pulling a fish out of the pond, and witnessing the camaraderie among campers and counselors. Witnessing as campers build relationships with peers who can relate to their own stories, or a camper who finds out their favorite counselor shares the same diagnosis as them, now that's powerful.
The community of Merry Heart Children's Camp (including campers, counselors, volunteers, medical and leadership teams) extends past the week of Summer camp; it creates an atmosphere of inclusivity, empowerment, and friendship.
I can't wait to attend in-person camp again in the future!
(Get your COVID vaccine when eligible, please! 🙂)
Rich Kelly: A Passion For Nature
Rich Kelly, center, leads a nature hike at camp in 2017.
I have had the pleasure of being involved with Merry Heart Children’s Camp since the beginning. I have assisted our camp director, Rob, and I lead sports and nature activities. I think it is a great organization – I see the kids having fun and enjoying the outdoors and that is a special feeling for me!
Our counselors, nurses and staff do a great job. Camp Howard, where our camp takes place each year, has been a good fit for us. COVID has caused disruptions for us but I am looking forward to the days when we will be back together.
- What activity do you like the most?
Sports-O-Rama - We’ve done this activity a couple times. The campers are divided into groups and rotate through three sports. It is good exercise and helps campers experience sports which they might not know.
- Aside from your activities, what do you love about the camp?
Nurses - I love the medical support we have at camp. The kids are closely monitored and well cared for. The medications process is organized and runs smoothly. I know this is a huge peace-of-mind for parents and is a big reason for the camp success.
- Why do you feel the activities you lead are important for the campers?
Nature Hikes - This activity provides an opportunity to experience nature and discover the outdoors. Some campers will find they have a passion for nature. This process is an important part of all kid’s development.
A Camp Story from Ben: "A Happy Camper"
Ben, right, hangs out at our 2019 camp with good buddy Alijah.
This year will be my 5th year going to camp and I always look forward to going and seeing old friends. I enjoy meeting new people, the activities, and being a happy camper!
Camp means I have somewhere to go where other people are the same as I am, a kid with a heart condition. Camp lets me know there are other kids with heart conditions out there living close to me. I don't know of anyone in my school with a heart condition, so going to camp makes me realize I'm not as different as I thought I was.
Camp is important to me because I enjoy having the opportunity to go and hang out with other heart kids! I'm grateful to Mary and Rob for starting Merry Heart Children's Camp for kids like me. I may have a heart condition, but I'm still a kid that likes to have fun!
Kayla Laird: "An Immediate Connection"
Kayla Laird has been a part of MHCC since day one. She was a camper the first year we held camp and then a counselor. She recently graduated from cosmetology school and is studying to be licensed by the state of Oregon.
Tanner, Kayla, and Adrian in 2019
Merry Heart Children's Camp is a place that allows you to be yourself and to meet other kids who have had similar experiences.
Back in 2014 when the camp first started, I was only 13 years old. At that time I had never met anyone with a heart condition, let alone someone with a zipper scar on their chest like mine.
It’s a place where you don’t have to worry about everyone going faster than you, because we're all going slow. I felt an immediate connection, filled with acceptance.
I’m proud to say that I’ve made friends at camp that, I believe, I will see and grow with for the rest of my life. We’ve connected through our shared experiences that not many other kids our age can relate to. For that, I am thankful that a camp like the Merry Heart Children’s Camp exists.
I could never truly tell you how happy this camp makes me. Comparing scars and stories with my fellow campers is the highlight of my summer. I would not trade these moments and memories for the world, or a new heart.
2021 T-Shirt Design!
Calling all Merry Heart Campers!
My name is Uki, I was a CIT at Merry Heart Children’s Camp’s virtual camp this year and I have a very important message for you!
Next year, we will be having a ✨NEW CAMP T-SHIRT✨! Here’s the fun part- you get to decide how they will look…
I know you all have some super awesome talents when it comes to drawing and painting, so I think you will be up to the challenge!
Between now and March 1st 2021, you can create a design for the t-shirt for next year’s camp. We will then choose one of the designs that will be on all the camp gear next summer.
Please focus your designs around camp activities, your friendships from camp and/or your fabulous hearts. We would also really appreciate if you could incorporate the name, ”Merry Heart Children’s Camp" and the year, 2021! If you want to, you could also include the slogan "Can't Heartly Wait!"
You can draw this design on a white 8x11 paper. (It doesn’t have to be rectangular, you could draw a square, circle or any other shape.) Then you or your parents can take a photo or scan the artwork and send it to Camp Director Rob McDonald: director@merryheartchildrenscamp.org. The photographs should be at least 15'' x 15” (1080 px by 1080 px) at 300 dpi. If you don’t know what that means, that’s okay, I think that is a very basic size and if you send us the design with plenty of time, we can work out any technical difficulties.
Once we receive all of the artwork, we will select one of the designs for next year’s logo.
Below is an example that I made for this year. It's just one idea, so remember to be as creative as you want and have fun!
Please feel free to contact Rob and me if you have any questions.
I'm SO excited to see what you all design!!! While we can only choose one for the T-shirt, we may be able to use other awesome entries for Instagram posts and other outlets.
Sincerely,
Uki Halloran-Steiner
Camp Stories: "Good Memories and a Full Heart"
Kyleen, center, with campers at the 2019 camp
I have been a counselor at Merry Heart Children's Camp for 6 years.
Before volunteering at Merry Heart I never talked about my heart condition and hid it from the world. In my time there I have not only grown to love and feel empowered by my congenital heart defect (CHD), but the members of camp and fellow volunteers have become like family.
The look on my campers' faces when they learn that I too, as their counselor, have CHD and have also had open heart surgery, is priceless. To be able to watch kids, who once, like me, did not know another soul with CHD, get to interact with others like them, truly warms my little CHD heart.
Every year is better than the last. Rob and Mary do an amazing job every year putting on such a spectacular camp. With a group of the most dedicated volunteers that I am so lucky to be apart of.
I truly look forward to camp every year. At this camp, not only are kids meeting other kids (and counselors) like them and learning about their heart, but they are becoming empowered in the process.
Every year I leave camp with good memories, a full heart, wide smile and watery eyes, counting down the days we all get to be together again.
Merry Heart will always be my second home, where I get to be apart of the most wonderful organization that lets kids just like me go to camp.
Kyleen "Hatter" Carter
A message from Uki, first-time camper at Merry Heart Children's Camp
This summer was my first year going to Merry Heart Children’s Camp and I regret not going sooner! I learned about it through my cardiologist and had always said no right away, but I was finally persuaded to participate and I am so glad I did!
I really enjoyed everything about my time there. So many of the counselors were really nice and fun to be around. I thought there was a really good balance of learning and playing. Each day, we had activities we rotated to activities with our cabin mates. We had swimming, archery, arts and crafts, and a lot of fun games.
But the best part was the new friends that I made in my time there and the interesting conversations that we all had. Not only did I have fun, but I also learned so much more about myself, my own heart condition and other conditions that people had.
Each night, we had heart talks to learn more about the heart and to practice talking about our own conditions. This was a really important part for me because it made me feel more comfortable with my unique heart. I wish I had gone to heart camp earlier in my life because it really helped me feel more confident. I was really nervous to go at first, but I am so glad that I went.
I can’t wait to go back next summer!
A Letter for Support
Dear Parents, Volunteers and Supporters,
We just completed our fourth summer camp and I have to assume that all our youth had a great time. I hoped they talked about all the fun things that they did at camp, new friends they met and other youth that have the same type of heart conditions that they have.
We hope within the next few months that you will see a difference in your youth when they go visit their doctors and start asking questions regarding their heart conditions.
As you may or may not be aware, Merry Heart Children’s Camp is an all-volunteer organization and we are in our fifth year as a tax-exempt organization. Statistically, we are at a critical point for a tax-exempt organization, whether we continue to grow, stay with the status quo or fail. Our goal is not to stay with status quo or fail. However, in order to grow we need to increase our volunteer support and funding for the organization. We cannot do this alone and we need you to become part of the heart camp community.
In February this year, the board had a strategic planning meeting with key stakeholders to create a vision/strategic plan for the next 4 – 6 years. The board adopted the plan in May. The three key areas are Program | Volunteers, Financial | Fundraising and Publicity | Outreach.
In Program | Volunteers, we are looking to start a teen camp for those youth who age out of our current camp. The teen camp would be the same week as our current camp but would consist of a different type of program. The goal is to start this camp in 2019 with 32 teens, ages 15 to 17 years.
We need to increase our all-volunteer staff to serve on our organization committees. Our committees and subcommittees consist of camp program/volunteers, development committees (fundraising, sponsors/big donors, grants and events), publicity/outreach, administrative committees (medical/health/safety, nominating and governance) and finance. In addition, we will need to replace some of our board members who will have served the maximum of 6 years on the board in 2019. Increasing our all-volunteer staff will be critical in starting up a teen camp.
In the Publicity | Outreach area, we need to develop strategies and action plans to increase the number of campers, donors and expand the network of hospitals, doctors, and others that help promote the camp.
The last area is the financial picture. The true cost for a youth with heart conditions to come to camp is $555.00, but we only charge a nonrefundable $55.00. In addition, we also pay the cost of camp for our volunteers. With the greater cost of having a teen camp along with our regular camp, we need to develop strategies and action plans to increase and diversify fundraising sources and efforts to support increased budgets, growth of camp and invest in an endowment for the future.
Our Merry Heart Children’s Camp Vision 2024 page is up along with our New Volunteer page. We are asking you as parents/guardians of our campers to help support the growth of our heart camp. Without your support, both volunteering and financially, we may not be able to sustain or grow the camp. Our support community is not growing, and we need to grow to become successful. If you would be interested in helping us, please do not hesitate to contact me. I look forward to working with you in the future.
Sincerely,
Robert W. McDonald
Executive Director and Camp Director