“If you ask me what I came into this world to do I will tell you – I came to live out loud.”
Emile Zola
What To Expect
To put it simply, TTFF’s Camp Arroyo Program is a unique camp experience, where kids with special needs are free to just be kids. No conforming, no hiding, no being singled out as “different.” Camp Arroyo provides a safe, nurturing environment, filled with positive energy and support. It’s a place where kids are surrounded by children with similar conditions, and where individuality is not taboo, but celebrated.
Remember your first experience away at camp? Late-night ghost stories, swimming with your pals, laughing in your cabins, roasting marshmallows over the campfire? It was a week of magic, light-heartedness, and something you looked forward to all year.
Quite often, children with life-threatening and chronic illnesses and developmental differences have never experienced such a place. Camp Arroyo was built specifically for these kids, to give them the opportunity to experience the magic of camp in a fun, untroubled, safe environment, where they feel comfortable, happy, and secure. They’re exposed to new activities, games, and experiences, and usually end up amazing themselves by doing things they had no idea — or dared not imagine — they could do.
At camp, our campers receive extra care and attention from highly trained, round-the-clock medical staff. Trained counselors give campers undivided attention (one-on-one, if necessary) and build friendships based on dependability and trust. The campers are able to talk about their feelings in a compassionate, nurturing atmosphere, and are made to feel at ease — finally!— to just be themselves.
Although a few camps existed before 2001 for children with cancer, no “permanent” camp existed in Northern California for children suffering from HIV/AIDS and other life-threatening illnesses. Camp offers a fulfilling and comprehensive camp experience, complete with an energy-efficient facility, healthy, delicious food, quality care, and FUN, FUN, FUN!
What is Camp Arroyo?
Camp Arroyo’s design takes into consideration all the children’s physical and emotional needs and was built just for them. Camp Arroyo is a state-of-the-art facility built with lots of LOVE!
Camp Amenities
- 7,500 sq. ft. dining hall that seats 200
- Indoor and outdoor stages
- 12 cabins with restrooms, which sleep 12 campers per cabin (144 total)
- 3,500 sq. ft. swimming pool with grass and BBQ area
- Boys’ and girls’ bath houses
- Arts and crafts center
- Sport court
- High- and low-challenge courses with a climbing wall
- 1½ acre meadow for field sports
- Archery
- Bocce courts
- Two additional grass areas adjacent to dining hall
- Organic garden
- Infirmary
- Campfire circle
- Amphitheatre
