Specialty camps return!

Thanks to reduced incidence of COVID-19, camps were back on the calendar this summer and fall for pediatric patients and their families to enjoy.

Of special note was the debut of Camp Heart-to-Heart, held Aug. 2–4 near Marietta (northern Greenville County) for children ages 6–12 with cardiology conditions. This marks Prisma Health’s first medically supervised camp open to kids across the state – meaning participants did not need to be Prisma Health patients. In fact, half of the campers were from the Midlands or Lowcountry.

This camp was made possible by the Dale A. Willenberg Congenital Heart Defect Endowment, established in 2019 by his family. Dale died unexpectedly just before his granddaughter Adaleigh was born with a congenital heart defect.

Wife Kelly and their two daughters were excited to see the camp finally come to fruition. They will be even more excited when Adaleigh – who has already had three open-heart surgeries – can attend in a few years.

“From the moment we found out Adaleigh had a heart defect before she was even born, my husband was committed to helping his family any way he could,” said Kelly. “He loved creating experiential memories, being outdoors and being with his family.”

The camp is staffed by volunteers and held in partnership with Greenville County Recreation. Like all our specialty camps, they are funded entirely by philanthropic donations.

Giving opportunities for specialty camps:

Prisma Health Midlands Foundation, 803-434-7275 or PrismaHealthMidlandsFoundation.org

Prisma Health Office of Philanthropy (Upstate), 864-797-7732 or PrismaHealthUpstateGiving.org