Camp Connections
Go on a virtual adventure with Camp Connections, an American Kidney Fund program in which children and teens living with kidney disease (and their families) can join monthly, virtual camp nights to find friendships, community and fun!
What is Camp Connections?
Camp Connections is a free, virtual camp program that provides a unique space for children, families and hospitals from across the United States to form bonds that might not have been possible otherwise. Camp Connections provides a monthly dose of fun for children and teens living with a chronic illness. Most importantly, Camp Connections lets kids living with kidney disease be kids!
Camp Connections offers children with kidney disease a chance to connect with and relate to their peers.
Children living with kidney disease or kidney failure spend an average of 8-14 days a year in the hospital, often missing school, extracurricular activities and social lives to receive critical health care. This can lead to an increased sense of social isolation and loneliness, on top of navigating the challenges of a life-altering disease. Camp Connections offers a break from these challenges and allows them a chance to connect with others who truly understand.
Each virtual camper receives a welcome bag from AKF as well as the supplies for each monthly activity – including (but not limited to) BINGO nights, art classes, STEM-related experiments and gingerbread house decorating.
Help Kids With Kidney Disease Connect
“It’s been really great for Jane to see other kids with kidney disease because she sees, ‘Oh, they look just like me!’” — Camp Connections mom
Your gift makes powerful programs like Camp Connections possible, giving children and families the chance to laugh, play and feel truly understood. Help make sure no one has to face kidney disease alone.
Register for Camp Connections
Alternatively, you can download the camp registration form and send it to us at CampConnections@kidneyfund.org.
Enter parent and camper information:
There is no greater feeling knowing that your child feels welcomed, accepted and not alone. The camp program offers a unique bond between kids facing similar hardships and provides a support system that is unmatched anywhere else.
Kids who attend Camp Connections leave feeling supported and uplifted.
Mental health concerns continue to be an issue for children and teens in the U.S., and research has shown a higher prevalence of depression in children and teens living with kidney disease. A 2023 survey of parents with children who attended AKF's Camp Connections program showed...
I don't want to ever sign out of these zooms! This is the only time I can talk to people like me.
96 cents of every donated dollar goes to patients and programs.
Every success, milestone and breakthrough we achieve for patients and their families depends on caring and generous people like you. Your gift goes further when you give to AKF.
96 cents of every donated dollar goes to patients and programs.
Camp Connections: Cystinosis is also a part of the American Kidney Fund's Camp Connections, Learn more here.
Thank you to the generous support of the following camp sponsors:
Give the Gift of Community
Childhood should be filled with joy, not hospital visits. Yet for kids living with kidney disease, isolation can feel overwhelming. That's why AKF created Camp Connections — bringing children together to build friendships, find confidence and know they are not alone.
Donate now to help grow this vital program and reach more families who need support. With 96 cents of every dollar going directly to patients and programs, your gift helps provide pediatric patients with the community they need.