History

Camp Gut Busters was started in 2001 by Dr. Mel Heyman, Chief of Pediatric Gastroenterolgy at UCSF Medical School in San Francisco. Our mission is to provide a fun and free camp experience for children with Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, also known as Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis.

Through generous donations by Bay Area residents and pharmaceutical companies, we have been able to keep the camp free since its inception.

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Activities

Camp Gut Busters, a one week FREE camp, is located in the beautiful hills south of Livermore in the San Francisco Bay Area. The camp is a whirlwind of fun and relaxing activities, including:

Checkout more than 1,000 photos from our past camps to get an idea of the activites at the camp!

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Who can apply?

While many of our campers and volunteer counselors are from San Francisco Bay Area, the camp is not restricted to just the Bay Area. Campers and counselors from other areas in California, and indeed from any other state in the U.S. A., can also apply.

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Supportive Medical Staff and Counselors

Camp Gut Busters is staffed throughout the week by physicians and nurses with expertise in IBD. In addition, we have volunteer camp counselors, who are often IBD patients themselves - giving them an insight into the issues associated with IBD. Campers fill out information about their IBD history and bring their medications with them to the camp. Medications remain in the posession of the nurses and are dispensed to the campers according to their schedules.

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Location: Camp Arroyo, Livermore

Camp Gut Busters is conducted at the beautiful Camp Arroyo in the Livermore hills in
San Francisco Bay Area. It is situated in quiet oak-studded hills with deer, wild turkeys, and rabbits and overlooks the Livermore valley.

The mission of The Taylor Family Foundation (TTFF) is "to enhance the quality of life for children in Northern California suffering from life-threatening illnesses and disabilities."

The IBD Camp has been running at Camp Arroyo for 8 years now. As in the past, we have the same medical staff. Many of the same counselors and campers will also be returning in 2009.