Flying Horse Farms, a camp that focuses on seriously ill children getting a chance to just be kids, was recently the recipient of $5,000 raised by Richland, Delaware, and Morrow County Farm Bureaus. The camp relies on donations and grants because is no charge for children or families to attend the camp, and they receive no federal funding.
Mansfield resident Sharon Baker, whose sons have both attended camp at Flying Horse Farms, spoke highly of the facility and its effect on her youngest son, Brae McKinney.
“It changed his life,” Baker said. “In one week at camp, I picked up a totally different kid than I dropped off.”
McKinney suffers from juvenile idiopathic arthritis and Behcet’s disease, both of which are autoimmune disorders. Baker said, due to his illnesses, McKinney has issues with his large joints, as well as his wrists, fingers, and jaws.
Donald Wiggins, Director of Community Relations and In-Kind Donations at Flying Horse Farms explained the entrance to the camp for children is via the “Hole in the Wall” section of the barn, “The parents park in the parking lot, and the kids walk through that Hole in the Wall. Once they get to the other side of the barn, they are just kids to us…We ask them to leave whatever they are living with out in the parking lot, and if they are ready to just have fun for the week.”
Children are generally referred to camp by their physicians, and Flying Horse Farms partners with all of Ohio’s Children’s Hospitals, as well as those in Pittsburgh. The camp accepts children ages 8 to 15, though a “Ranger Camp” is offered to some that have “timed out” and are too old for summer camp.
“Our goal in that is to keep them engaged in camp, so when they turn 19 they can come back and be counselors,” said Wiggins, “It’s kind of a counselor in training program with our campers.”
Baker said the entire family attended Flying Horse Farm’s “Family Camp,” and her older son, Justice Baker, has attended “Ranger Camp.”
Summer camps are one week long and are illness specific. Doctors and nurses are on hand at all times, and are often specialists in their field.
Wiggins noted that camp is not only great for the children, but it also offers respite for the family since someone else is focused on the ill child for the week. “Many times, families don’t have that opportunity. This may be their first shot at respite since the child has been ill,” he said.
Sharon Baker, who not only works at Harmony House but is working concurrently toward an associate’s degree in human services from North Central State College and a bachelor’s degree in social work from Mount Vernon Nazarene College, said that it is a relief for her to know that her ill son can enjoy camp and she knows he is well cared for and she need not worry.
“Their medical facility onsite rivals most doctors’ offices I’ve been in,” said Sharon Baker. “The idea is to bring everything the kids need to camp so they don’t have to leave to get their medicine or shots.”
“They try to make it as much not about being sick as they can,” she said.
Sharon Baker added that her son, Justice Baker, has been inspired by the counselors and staff at the camp. She credited the camp’s chef for Justice Baker’s plans for the future. “He leaves in November to Columbus to the Culinary Art Institute,” she said.
“Every time the kids arrive to camp, they spot Mimi right away because she’s always wearing the brightest tutu you’ve ever seen,” she added.
Mimi Dane, CEO and President of Flying Horse Farms said, “The focus of that and reason for that is that at camp we try to take everything that you may think is normal and create a new normal. Not only a CEO in a tutu, but doctors in costumes and tutus.”
Dane said this activity gives the children a new view of their doctor and helps them see physicians as individuals.
Dane said of Flying Horse Farms, “It is a magical, transforming place that gives children with serious illness a chance to enjoy life.”
Caregivers that have children with serious illnesses that would like to attend the camp may find more information at http://flyinghorsefarms.org/camp/how-to-enroll/ or by contacting camper recruiter, Olivia Miller at olivia@flyinghorsefarms.org or 419-751-7077.
Those interested in volunteering at Flying Horse Farms may apply online at http://flyinghorsefarms.org/get-involved/volunteer-opportunities/
Donation and sponsorship information is also available on the website.
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“They are just kids to us…We ask them to leave whatever they are living with out in the parking lot, and if they are ready to just have fun for the week,” said Donald Wiggins.
