CAMP CONNECTION
ISSUE 1 * VOL. 5 | SEPTEMBER 2022
BURN CAMP NEWS AND UPDATES
Summer Burn Camp 2022
Celebrating our 39th summer, the Cheley/Children’s Hospital Colorado Summer Burn Camp hosted 51 pediatric burn survivors in the heart of the Rocky Mountains for an amazing week. Our theme this year was, “be. you.” and campers found a way to challenge themselves and committed to finding a path towards being their best selves both at camp and at home and in their communities. From the moment they step off the bus to a parade of medical professionals, firefighters, referring hospital staff, current and alumni Cheley counselors, to their final goodbye and appreciation circle, thrilling experiences are shared at camp that will be remembered for a lifetime. Given the opportunity to come together and share their stories with one another, campers reflect on their past and continue healing their physical and emotional scars. With their burn injury bringing them together, the safe, challenging, nurturing, and accepting environment at camp is what allows campers to thrive. We sang, danced, hiked, fished, rode horses, swam, and adventured on outcamps. All of us challenged ourselves physically and emotionally, reconnected with our camp community, and made lifelong friends. Through all of this, campers demonstrated why the camp experience is a necessary and a fulfilling part of their story. We are grateful to our brave and courageous campers who showed up and shone bright.
2022 Creating Ties | Tickets On Sale Now!
Children's Hospital Colorado Burn Camps Program presents the 15th Annual Creating Ties Dinner & Auction on Friday, November 4, 2022, at Maggiano's Little Italy, Denver Tech Center. This signature fundraising event brings the community together to raise critical funds to support the Burn Camps Program. You are invited to join us for this fun and exciting evening filled with friends, food, libations, auctions, and the power of camp. In the spirit of creating ties with camp, we encourage everyone to wear their favorite or most creative necktie, scarf, or neckpiece. Monies raised will benefit the Burn Camps Program’s Thrive Endowment which ensures any child who has sustained a burn injury has the opportunity to attend Burn Camp long into the future. Click here for more information and to purchase tickets.
2022 Courage Classic
A HUGE thank you to those who cycled over two days and raised funds for the Burn Camps Program in the 2022 Courage Classic! Our nine riders raised nearly $12,000! We more than doubled our riders and monies raised from 2021. S’more Courage is a group of dedicated volunteers raising money by hitting the road for two days of cycling over picturesque Rocky Mountain passes.

If you are interested in joining team S'more Courage in 2023 on July 15th and 16th, please reply to this email or contact Tim Schuetz, Outreach Coordinator, at (720) 777-6292 or tim.schuetz@childrenscolorado.org.
American Camp Association Accreditation
The Children’s Hospital Colorado Burn Camps Program is a proud member of the American Camp Association (ACA). They accredit over 2,400 camps who meet up to 300 standards for health, safety, and quality programs. Our Summer Camp program is an accredited Colorado camp of the ACA. All of our other camp programs follow the ACA guidelines for health, safety, and quality programs.

The on-site accreditation team visited Summer Burn Camp at Cheley Colorado Camps in Estes Park, CO and reviewed our policies, procedures, and guidelines for health, safety, and quality programs. It was a very successful visit.
2022 - 2023 Program Updates
Young Adult Retreat | January 2023 | Estes Park, CO
The Young Adult Retreat will be held January 13 - 16, 2023 in Estes Park, CO. This retreat-style learning experience is designed to identify and address unique areas of young adulthood transitions and develop life skills useful to burn survivors, ages 18-25. The program includes recreational activities and various workshops to address topics including relationships, body image, goal setting and developing a personal mission statement. Participants identify strengths to build on and areas of needed growth within their own lives. In an emotionally safe and supportive environment, participants share experiences, thoughts, and feelings which creates opportunity for growth and a support network of peer burn survivors. Click here to read more about this program.

Winter Camp | February 2023 | Steamboat Springs, CO
Winter Camp will be held February 6 – 10, 2023, in Steamboat Springs, CO! Teens who have experienced our Summer Camp program and are ready for a winter challenge are invited to participate. Campers spend their days shredding the snow and learning new skills and tricks. In the evening, the group heads back to the Steamboat Grand Lodge to relax in the hot tub and get ready for the evening’s activity. Burn survivors who have attended the Cheley Children’s Hospital Colorado Summer Burn Camp or been nominated through our partnership with Parkland Hospital and I-Thonka-Chi, are eligible to attend. Click here to read more about this program.