Camp Aranzazu builds belonging for those with illness, special needs

Across Camp Aranzazu’s 105 acres Wednesday morning, teens looked for dolphins from sail boats in Copano Bay, cast lines baited with shrimp off the pier, shot arrows into targets at the archery station and paused to play with camp pets.

Later, there would be games and crafts and a ropes course.

And, for some, chemotherapy.

Camp Aranzazu serves campers with special needs and chronic illnesses. This week, the camp hosted Teens Living with Cancer, a Driscoll Children's Hospital program for teen oncology and blood disorder patients, some of whom also brought a family member or friend.

Driscoll patient Melia Espinoza, who is 14, nearly 15, attended the TLC program with her brother, Diego Castillo, 18. She has a list of things she enjoys about camp – “the zipline, the screamer (a high swing), the leaders, the nurses.”

“You can be yourself and do anything, by choice too, so you can back out,” Espinoza said. “No one discriminates.”

At camp, the teens can push and challenge themselves, to the delight of the Driscoll staff serving as counselors. The campers are generally healthy enough to stay at camp and participate in activities. For those still regaining their endurance and stability, the camp is an opportunity to build confidence and independence.

"Most of them have never done a lot of these things like sailing or zip lines or rock climbing, high ropes courses – all the things they get to try here,” Driscoll Children’s Hosptial Dr. Catherine Boston said. “It’s good for them because a lot of them have been sick and haven’t been able to even go to school or do any activities. They’ve been weak from some of their treatments.”

Located on 105 acres on Copano Bay near Rockport, the property includes coastlands and wetlands where campers can sail, fish and birdwatch, along with other traditional summer camp activities such as swimming, ziplining, archery, art and games.

“It is a traditional summer camp experience with the adaptations to serve campers,” Camp Aranzazu President and CEO Kurt Podeszwa said. “We really think of our activities as universal.”

The sailboats are the same style used by paralympic sailors. In addition to a traditional climbing wall, there is a less strenuous adapted wall and a pulley system to raise campers up to the platform so they can zipline down even if they can’t physically climb to the top. At camps for children with asthma, campers make s’mores without the campfire.

Since 2018, when the camp celebrated the completion of a bridge connecting camp walkways to the bay, campers have had more opportunities to sail and fish.

The camp will serve nearly 1,900 campers from the Coastal Bend, Golden Cresent, San Antonio, Houston and Dallas in 2023.

Operating year-round, Camp Aranzazu partners with organizations to host camps tailored to specific health needs, such as cancer, epilepsy, autism and asthma.

The camp has three main fundraisers, a local barbecue and clay shoots in Houston and San Antonio, and participates in the Coastal Bend Day of Giving in November.

Through fundraising and donations – roughly $2 million this year – the camp covers about two-thirds of the cost of programs. Partner organizations cover the remaining third.

“Camp Aranzazu works every week on a sense of belonging and self-efficacy,” Podeszwa said.

The camp provides kids with the opportunity build community and connect with others with similar life experiences.

Podeszwa said that campers learn about team building and encouraging one another.

“We really teach them about how to encourage people,” Podeszwa said. “Like, we don’t say things like, ‘Hey, I did it, you can do it.’ Because that isn’t necessarily true. Just because I can do something doesn’t mean that you can do it.”

Instead, encouragement at Camp Aranzazu might sound like, ‘I know you can do hard things and you’re doing great,’ Podeszwa said.

Sitting in the camp nature center eager to pet a hairless guinea pig named Nacho, 12-year-old Sophia Palacios, from Corpus Christ, said she loves camp.

“It’s fun,” Palacios said. “You get to make lots of friends and you get to see animals, plants, flowers and nature... They don’t keep you sitting in the cabins. They have you doing stuff.”

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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Driscoll Children's Hospital patients connect at Camp Aranzazu