BURTON, Texas — This Sunday, 140 children who are currently being treated for cancer at Texas Children's Hospitals, will be starting a unique summer camp at Camp Periwinkle.
Executive Director of The Periwinkle Foundation, Doug Suggitt, explained how the group began, and what their original intentions were for campers.
“Our founder Dr. Paul Gerson was waking around cancer floors one time at MD Anderson at Texas Children's Hospital and he noted that all he saw was dying, grieving kids and sad parents, there's not a lot of happiness and optimism, and he said that we have to do better,” Suggitt said.
This camp offers children an opportunity to express themselves where they previously could not in a hospital.
“Kids get to go out and we partner with a facility called Camp for All in Burton, Texas, and we utilize that facility for horseback riding, ropes course to swimming," said Suggitt when talking about what activities the camp will offer. "They have an amazing facility called Star Place, which has an indoor performance area and gymnasium, so these kids get to experience a lot of things that other kids don’t get to experience but they deserve it for what they're going through in life.”
The impact of this camp is something that is bigger than some realize for the children and their families.
“The real magic happened once the kids got back. The doctors, nurses, parents, noticed a new optimism in the kids outlook on life and their treatment, so from that say on in 1984, camp has continued to go on," said Suggitt.
Click here for more info on Camp Periwinkle.
Also on KAGS: