Camps for children living with diabets

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We are proud to offer two camps for children living with diabetes.  Camp Ko-Man-She is held annually for children with Type 1 diabetes.  Camp Tiponi is held annually for children living with Type 2 diabetes, Insulin Resistance, prediabetes, or metabolic disorders. 

Camp is held at the beautiful YMCA Camp Willson Outdoor Recreation Center, located just outside of Bellefontaine.  The staff of Camp Willson is wonderfully accommodating, whether it’s the camp cook modifying meals for our campers’ needs or the Conference Director helping to work exciting new activities into our camper’s schedule. 

Children enjoy a variety of camp activities such as swimming, hiking, campfires, wall-climbing, archery, horseback riding, field games and culminating with a dance on the last evening. In addition to making new friends who are living with diabetes like themselves, diabetes education is woven into the fun, helping the children to become more knowledgeable and better skilled about how to manage their diabetes. 

Camp Ko-Man-She

Since 1963, Diabetes Dayton has been offering summer camp for children. Its goal was and is to offer children living with juvenile or Type 1 diabetes an opportunity to enjoy a fun outdoor experience with other children like themselves in a safe, medically supervised setting.

Today, Diabetes Dayton partners with Dayton Children's Medical Center to bring together an exceptional team of doctors, nurses and registered dieticians who, in addition to our terrific counselors, provide quality care 24-7 for our campers.   Not only does staff receive special training and undergo background checks, but almost all of our counselors are young adults who attended camp themselves as children, so they understand what it’s like growing up with this disease as well as the value of camp.  Most even take a week’s vacation to come out and work with the children. Campers endure 6-8 fingers sticks a day, along their required dosing of insulin shots, but the emphasis is on making friends, having fun and becoming more confident.

This camp is funded by a grant from the Dayton Foundation’s Harmony Camp Fund and through agency fundraising. Many people mistakenly believe that since it is a camp for children with juvenile diabetes, that it is funded by the JDRF or Juvenile Research Foundation, which is not the case.  The two agencies are not affiliated in any way.  While the JDRF is an important agency in its own right, it is an International agency with the mission of raising funds for research to find a cure, so their funds are sent to a corporate office. 

Diabetes Dayton is an independent, local diabetes association which means 100% of the monies raised stay here locally to support programs like our 47 year old camp.

Camp Tiponi

Tiponi is Native American for ‘child of importance’ and we believe every child is important to us at Diabetes Dayton.  An alarming and rising health crisis in our community is the number of children who are at risk for developing Type 2 Diabetes or what used to be referred to as “Adult-Onset” Diabetes.   While we have always welcomed these youth to our Type 1 camp, it became clear that they could benefit from a camp tailored just to their needs.

Youth attending will develop the knowledge and skills needed to maintain a healthy lifestyle through a balance of proper nutrition and exercise.  Campers will stay in a relaxed outdoor atmosphere, making new friends and sharing with them all the activities of a camp environment.  They’ll learn that others live in a situation similar to their own and grow both socially and emotionally with children of their own age.