Wednesday was a difficult day for The American Independent News Network, which is the larger entity that operates The Iowa Independent. Our chief executive and founder announced two of our sister sites would close and their content would be moved to The American Independent.
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An Iowa camp that specializes in offering children with diabetes an opportunity for safe summer fun has received a donation from the foundation set up by pop stars The Jonas Brothers.
Camp Hertko Hollow, which offers residential camping opportunities for diabetic youth between the ages of 6 and 18, received a grant in the amount of $5,000 from The Jonas Brothers’ Change for the Children Foundation. The money will be used to provide 2009 ‘camperships.’
For fans of the pop group the grant will come as little surprise. Nick Jonas, the youngest member of the Jonas Brothers, was diagnosed with type 1 (insulin dependent) diabetes in the fall of 2005, and partnered with Bayer Diabetes Care in the summer of 2008. The foundation, which received an initial large donation from Bayer, was designed to “provide support to programs that motivate and inspire children to face adversity with confidence, determination and a will to succeed.”
“Nearly every day I hear from someone like me who says that I make them feel it’s OK to have diabetes and that’s really cool that I can do that,” Nick Jonas said during the announcement of the partnership. “I know I’m lucky because I have a family that encourages me a lot. I want to give that same inspiration to other kids with diabetes, and working with Bayer lets me do that.”
The goal of Camp Hertko — named after 1968 founder Dr. Ed Hertko — is to teach and educate children afflicted with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes how to effectively manage their illness so that they can live long and health lives. Two one-week sessions are planned this summer, one for youngsters ages 6 to 11 and another for teens ages 11 to 18.
In addition to the more than 375 campers that attend each summer, more than 100 health care professionals also volunteer their time to provide education opportunities and to oversee the safety of the campers. Roughly one-third of those who volunteer also have diabetes themselves.
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