Camp developed for previously burned children.Tampa, Fl - Camp Hopetake (pronounced Ho-pee-toc-ee) has been developed by the Tampa Bay Tampa Bay, inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, 25 mi (40 km) long and 7 to 12 mi (11.3–19 km) wide, W Fla., separated from the Gulf by numerous small islands; it receives the Hillsborough River. St. Regional Burn Center at Tampa General Hospital as a summer camp specifically designed to meet the needs of previously burned children from the ages of four to 16. The name Hopetike is the Seminole Indian word for children. It was chosen with the help of the tribal office at the Brighton Seminole Reservation in Okeechobee as representational of Florida. In 1991, our burn center participated in a pilot program that we found not only rewarding, but fun and educational. Previous patients from our burn center were invited to spend the weekend with medical personnel that they had become acquainted with while recovering from their burn injuries. For many of our children, coping with The Coping With series of books is a series of books aimed at 11-16 year olds, written by Peter Corey and published by Scholastic Hippo. The first book, Coping with Parents, was released in 1989, and the series continued until the last book, Coping with Cash the social and emotional scars associated with their injuries can be overwhelming. Camp Hopetake provides a safe, supportive environment for our kids to share their feelings. The second annual summer camp was held this year on June 5,6 and 7 at Lakewood Retreat in Brooksville, Florida Brooksville is a city in Hernando County, Florida, in the United States. It is the county seat of Hernando County.GR6 Geography Brooksville is located at (28.553529, -82.388668). . Seventeen children from the ages of 4 to 13 from throughout the state attended. Participation doubled from last year and we have moved closer to meeting our goal of networking with other burn centers to provide a statewide camping opportunity for these children. Staff members from the Tampa Bay Regional Burn Center, the University of Miami-Jackson Memorial Medical Center, and the Burn Intensive Care Unit at the University of Florida University of Florida is the third-largest university in the United States, with 50,912 students (as of Fall 2006) and has the eighth-largest budget (nearly $1.9 billion per year). UF is home to 16 colleges and more than 150 research centers and institutes. Medical Center in Gainesville volunteered their time as counselors. Two Tampa Bay firefighters participated as well. Camper Sher-Ami Hernandez, 13, of Plant City, is a two-year veteran of Camp Hopetake. "I had so much fun last year and made some new friends and I wanted to come back," she said. On the bus ride to Camp Hopeke, counselors distributed hats, buttons and sunglasses to the excited campers. Upon arrival at Lakewood Retreat, we assigned bunks. After lunch, camp members participated in a nature trail scavenger hunt scavenger hunt n. A game in which individuals or teams try to locate and bring back miscellaneous items on a list. . Campers used Polaroid cameras to photograph examples of nature. The photographs were given to the campers to include in their scrapbooks. One important rule had to be followed: any object moved on the hike, such as logs, rocks, snails, etc., had to be returned to the environment exactly as it had been found. Campers participated in a number of activities, including arts and crafts arts and crafts, term for that general field of applied design in which hand fabrication is dominant. The term was coined in England in the late 19th cent. as a label for the then-current movement directed toward the revivifying of the decorative arts. , fishing, swimming and canoeing, and outdoor games such as basketball, shuffleboard shuffleboard, sport in which players use cue sticks to push disks onto a scoring diagram at either end of a concrete or terrazzo court. The court is 52 ft (15.85 m) long and 6 ft (1.83 m) wide. The bases of the triangular scoring diagrams are parallel to and 8 ft (2. and softball. The children also went on a hayride hay·ride n. A recreational ride in a large wagon or other vehicle piled with hay. and singalong Noun 1. singalong - informal group singing of popular songs singsong singing, vocalizing - the act of singing vocal music . Swimming was the most popular event throughout the weekend. Due to their burn scars, several children were reluctant to put on bathing suits. After encouragement from other children and staff members, everyone participated in pool activities. At dusk, Lakewood Retreat staff cooked popcorn for Camp Hopetake with an old-fashioned kettle. Campers also made s'mores, many for the first time. On Saturday, highlights included canoeing and fishing at Lake Hancock. A minnow minnow, common name for the Cyprinidae, a large family of freshwater fish which includes the carp (Cyprinus carpio), and of which there are some 300 American species. The European minnow is Phoxinus phoxinus. contest was held, with prizes awarded for the biggest, the smallest, the most caught, and the fish with the biggest tail. These lakeside activities required teamwork between the campers and counselors to ensure safety. Due to the activity-filled weekend, very few campers and counselors made it through Saturday night's movie, "Home Alone." On Sunday morning, the children raced model cars they had built and painted. Scrapbooks were completed with photographs each camper had taken, and souvenir tee shirts were distributed. Tired and happy, Camp Hopetake participants returned to Tampa General Hospital at noon. "I had lots of fun," said camper Randy Kerish, 7, of Tampa. "I wish I could stay longer." According to Barbara Hartnett, MSPT MSPT Master of Science in Physical Therapy MSPT Morning Star Polytechnic MSPT Maintenance Support Product Team MSPT Male Straight Pipe Thread MSPT Microsoft Power Toys , most of the campers had returned to their previous functional levels. "Camp Hopetake provided a recreational experience for the kids in which they were really doing therapeutic activities but not concentrating on them," she said. Due to many requests from the campers, Camp Hopetake will be extended to five days next summer. The camp is scheduled for June 9-13 and will be held at Day Spring in Ellenton, near Bradenton. Camp Hopetake was made possible by donations from organizations, companies and individuals from the community. |
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