Impact of Your Support

2017 was a spectacular year for North Star Reach. Our residential and family camp programs nearly doubled in size, as we welcomed 696 children living with serious illnesses and their family members to camp.

In just two years, we’ve hosted more than 1,000 campers, but many more kids can’t attend regular summer camp because they face serious health challenges. Increasingly our campers are traveling from across the Great Lakes Region–including Detroit, Grand Rapids, and Chicago–to experience all the outdoor adventures and childhood joys of a traditional camp with others just like them.

“These are kids who have lost out on so many childhood experiences already,” says Dr. Erica Michiels, Associate Medical Director, Pediatric Emergency Department at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids. “To be able to give them back a true camp experience is an incredible gift.”

Watch the video below to hear more from physicians, donors, staff, campers and their families about the impact of your support. To make a tax-deductible donation to help send a child with a serious health challenge to camp, please visit our donation page.