Camp Odayin provides fun, safe and supportive camp experiences and community building opportunities for young people with heart disease and their families.
Camp Odayin currently offers the following distinct programs:
Residential Camp enables children with heart disease from grade one to 11 to enjoy traditional camp activities such as swimming, boating, arts and crafts, and horseback riding in a medically supervised environment over a five-day and four-night experience. Volunteer cardiologists, nurses and counselors help to run the camp at a two awesome camp locations, one in Crosslake, MN and a second in Elkhorn, WI.
Hearts@Home virtual camp is for children with heart disease in grades 1-11. Virtual camp is hosted using the Zoom platform with trained camp counselors and Odayin leadership staff. Campers have an opportunity to meet new heart friends, learn camp songs, participate in a (optional) talent show, and more. All campers receive a mailed “camp in a box” which includes a camp t-shirt, themed costume accessories, activity supplies, and more!
Family Camp affords the parents, siblings and grandparents of children with heart disease the opportunity to have a weekend of camp fun along with their ‘heart child.’ Families interact with others who face similar health challenges and hear from experts in the field of pediatric cardiology.
Winter Camp offers Residential and Day Camp participants the opportunity to reconnect during the winter months. Campers take part in cold weather activities such as sledding and broomball over a three-day weekend in February
The Moms Retreat is a time for moms of young people with heart disease to connect for support, education and empowerment. The Saturday to Sunday retreat includes meals, lodging, optional spa and yoga activities, and fabulous guest speakers at the Water Street Inn in Stillwater, MN.
Dads Day is a day of outdoor recreation in Excelsior, MN to build camaraderie and connection between dads of children with heart disease.
Ticker Talk is a free, online Camp Odayin meet up for heart kids in grades 1-12. The hour together is a mini camp experience, full of campy-fun and interactive trivia, games, speakers and more. Ticker Talk gatherings are hosted on Zoom every other month during the school year.
Our programs are designed to instill a sense of belonging and foster confidence in young people who may be isolated and timid due to their health issues. Programs are operated at partner campsites with the invaluable support of volunteer counselors, nurses, cardiologists and those personally impacted by childhood heart disease.
