This post is not related to BDSM. I’m using this platform to get the word out any way I can on something very personal to me.

The COVID-19 pandemic needs no explanation. Many of us are stuck at home right now. I’m fortunate enough to be able to telework. Yet there are many out there who have lost their jobs because of the economic shutdown. But again, you already know this.

What may not be obvious is the effect the pandemic is having on charity organizations. Many major contributors to non-profit organizations have shifted to COVID-related donations. One Heartland is one such heavily affected organization. This wonderful, life-changing charity is in crisis and needs immediate support to keep its doors open.

One Heartland runs a number of camp-based programs aimed at improving the lives of families facing significant health challenges or social isolation. Camp Northstar provides the camp experience for children facing housing instability. While Camp True Colors offers a safe retreat for LGBTQ+ youth. For the older campers, One Heartland offers a 2-year training program that grooms campers to become the next generation of counselors and gives them valuable experience and skills for the future.

My own personal experience is with Camp Heartland. It provides a retreat for children infected or affected by HIV/AIDS. Why “affected” instead of just “infected”? When founder, Neil Willenson, conceived this idea he saw that children like myself, who were not infected but whose family members were infected, were also deeply and directly affected by the illness and the stigma it carried.

Camp Heartland started in 1993. AIDS was better supported by the medical community in comparison to the ‘80s. However, there was still rampant ignorance and discrimination among the general public. People protested against my younger brother attending elementary school simply because he had AIDS. You’d think he was terrorizing the community. Don’t get me wrong, he was an evil little shit but he wasn’t a threat to anyone.

When he started school, everyone knew we were the “AIDS family”. Fortunately, kids are sometimes smarter than adults. The two of us were each able to make friends easily enough, though my brother had to endure more teasing than I did.

Yet the stigma was still there. Even when nothing was said, it could be felt. People sometimes attributed any misbehavior on my part to my home life, which felt both frustrating and shameful. I knew even as a kid that most of my family had refused to take my brother and me in. They would adopt me if it was necessary but they would not raise my brother.

On the other end of the spectrum was the uncertainty that came whenever anyone was overly nice to me. Whether it was a teacher or a student, I could never be sure if it was because I was likeable or because they knew my family had AIDS. I know that sounds like an odd complaint to have—especially when others have dealt with far worse—but as a kid there’s a strong desire to simply be normal and not be singled out.

I didn’t balk at answering questions whenever people asked but in truth I didn’t want to always think about my family’s health. I didn’t want to have to think about the fact that I was expected to be an orphan within a few years. I didn’t want to have to explain that my dad had died. I didn’t want to have to explain that my mom was too sick to work anymore. I didn’t want to have to explain that she was in a wheelchair even though she her legs worked because she was often too weak to walk.

A common question was “What is it like for your family to have AIDS?” My response was always “I don’t know what it’s like for my family to not have AIDS.”

Sometimes I just wanted to be a kid. At Camp Heartland I was just a kid.

Camp Heartland was a world unto itself.

It existed in a weird time warp that seemed to stretch far beyond that week and yet was always entirely too short.

At Camp Heartland I could talk as much or as little about my family situation as I wanted. It was a safe space where I could cry my heart out. Or ride horses. Or swim in the pool. Or go to the dance with a cute girl. You know, just be a kid at camp.

This went beyond just our health and family situations. Many campers were dealing with poverty, broken homes, drug addiction, etc. As former One Heartland board president Jeff Maiken said, “HIV might be the most manageable aspect of their lives.”

On my very first day of my first year at camp, I made a new friend. We were instant best friends. We swam. We snuck away to the horses even when it wasn’t the scheduled time for horseback riding (and got caught). We talked about which campers and counselors we had crushes on. Even though we only saw each other for that one week for the next 7 years, we maintained that strong friendship. It’s been over 20 years since we last saw one another and we’re still friends on Facebook. My experiences at camp and the cross-section of amazing people that I was exposed to there have without a doubt helped shape me into the person I am today.

I am tempted to say that Camp Heartland was an escape from the world, from our fears, our anxieties, the pressures of our everyday lives, but that fails to do it justice. In truth it was far more than that. Camp Heartland was a world unto itself.

Our pressures were gone. Our friends were there. No matter what was going on back home, we could take joy in that little block of space and time that we occupied. It existed in a weird time warp that seemed to stretch far beyond that week and yet was always entirely too short.

Now that space, along with all of the other amazing work being done by One Heartland, is threatened. The COVID-19 crisis is costing them funding that they simply cannot do without. The organization purchased its own camp in Minnesota rather than continue to lease campgrounds. Its reserve cash went into paying down its mortgage. As such, it does not have the funds to maintain itself and its usual streams of contributions have faltered due to this pandemic.

One Heartland is in danger of shutting its doors forever.

This is something near and dear to my heart but I am far from the only one. Camp Heartland and other programs run by One Heartland have touched countless lives. We are all better for it. I’ve only used this platform for education but today I’m going to ask for assistance, not for myself (I’m far too old to go to camp anymore) but for all the people who need this safe space in the future.

If there’s anything you can provide, even a simple $5 donation, I urge you to help.

The founder, Neil “Noodle” Willenson, started a fundraiser on Facebook for a far more modest amount. That is not the final amount needed. It is merely a springboard to help get the organization started towards its $350,000 goal.

You can find his Facebook fundraiser here.

BTW, Neil is an amazing person with a big heart. It takes a lot for a young man with a fresh communication arts degree to suddenly decide he is going to start a non-profit organization and help families from across the US. We will be forever in his debt.

You can also donate through One Heartland’s webpage.

They offer a number of different ways to contribute. Some are as simple as using Amazon Smile instead of Amazon.com with One Heartland designated as the charity to contribute to.

Some of you might not have any spare money to offer. You might be barely afloat yourself. I can’t ever fault anyone for taking care of themselves and/or their family first. If you can’t give money, then please help raise it. Share this post. Share the fundraiser. Write a blog. Tweet it. Get the word out to others so that we can save this great organization.

Whatever you do, however you do it, just please help give the gift of camp today and preserve this opportunity for future generations.