Most 16-year-old girls dream of hosting a big party. Francesca Tenconi was not most girls. At 16, she dreamed of starting a foundation. And then she did.
Inspired by the challenges she faced as a teenager with a severe skin disease, 16-year-old Francesca founded the not-for-profit Children's Skin Disease Foundation. Her first order of business? Create a place where kids with chronic and even life-threatening skin diseases could enjoy the pleasures of summer camp at a place just for them.
Camp Wonder was born.
“One of the tremendous challenges with skin disease is how visible it is. I remember as a child having people move away from me when I sat down in a movie theater. I wanted to give kids a week off from those kinds of pressures and experiences,” Francesca explains.
Camp Wonder is a one-week, medically-supported summer camp exclusively for kids with severe skin diseases. “My goal was to let kids be kids and forget about their illness for a week,” she adds.
And kids they are, with a full roster of summer camp activities, from horseback riding to rock climbing, swimming, arts and crafts and more. But Camp Wonder does much more for the children it serves than just providing a one-week respite.
“Our campers forge connections and develop friendships that help support them throughout the year as they face challenges in their ‘real lives,’” Francesca explains.
Not willing to place an additional financial burden on the families, Camp Wonder is free for all of its campers, hence the importance of corporate sponsors like Cetaphil and the incredible army of volunteers, including doctors, nurses, counselors and so many more people who make Camp Wonder, well, wondrous.
Hats off to you all.
For more information about The Children's Skin Disease Foundation and Camp Wonder visit www.CSDF.org
