Did someone say camp? The seeds for a permanent camp were planted in the mid-90s after ABC7 News Anchor Cheryl Jennings took Elaine to visit Camp Sunburst, a camp for children living with HIV/AIDS, in the lower Sierra Foothills (Alta, CA).  Geri Brooks, founder of Camp Sunburst, had been providing a respite camp for children with HIV/AIDS and their families since 1988. Jennings did a feature on the camp for ABC7 News each year. When they arrived, they were greeted by many kids who knew Elaine from Friday Fun Days, a program funded by The Taylor Family Foundation (TTFF), and holiday events during their stays at Children’s Hospital, Oakland. They were thrilled to see her up at Camp Sunburst!

Like Elaine, Brooks was completely dedicated to providing respite for children infected or affected with HIV/AIDS and their families. But lacking consistent funding, Brooks would charge camp costs to her credit cards. Then, thanks in part to grants and donations she would pay her cards off during the course of the year . To give Brooks some relief and allow her to concentrate more on programs than money, TTFF started funding Camp Sunburst.

There were complications though. It was still early on in the pandemic and various campsite managers were leery of allowing kids infected or affected with HIV/AIDS to stay in their facilities, forcing Camp Sunburst to move locations often. Camp Sunburst only had availability for the sickest, most fragile children to attend one of their three, week-long camp sessions.

Elaine knew that if she could get her hands on just five acres she could build a permanent camp for kids that would be able to accommodate the Bay Area’s nearly 1,000 children who were infected or affected with HIV/AIDS. In addition to the foundation’s regular activities, Elaine started brainstorming for her new project dubbed “Camp 5-Acres.”