Friends and Supporters,
We just finished our 23rd year of the Chris Dudley Basketball Camp for youth with type 1 diabetes. CDBC is hosted in Vernonia, OR where we welcomed 75 campers, ages 10-17, from all over the world, including campers from Spain and New Zealand. All of our campers live with type 1 diabetes. Living with type 1 diabetes can be isolating and challenging. We spent this week improving basketball skills and talking about how to manage diabetes while being active, but maybe even more importantly, we spent the week bonding as a community that understands the ups and downs of life with type 1 diabetes. While education is invaluable, support is key to living successful lives with diabetes.
It is hard to put into words what our week at CDBC brought to our community. There is a certain type of magic that happens at camp. A magic that can only be found when those who start as strangers, leave as family; a magic that sparks when two people look at each other and say “You too? I thought I was the only one.” On the last night of camp, we gather together for what is known as Pass the Ball. Campers and staff of all ages, share what camp means to them. This year, one of our counselors shared a quote that he felt encapsulated the essence of CDBC:
“All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.” - Francis of Assisi.
While the challenges of type 1 diabetes can burden our spirits, the light of the community that we have built at camp shines bright and helps us through even the darkest of times.
More than 75% of CDBC campers each year are provided with a scholarship to attend camp. Diabetes requires extra expenses for proper management and we never want camp to be a financial burden. Our goal is always to never turn away a camper based on financial needs and we would not be able to do this without the support of generous donors.
Please visit our website
www.chrisdudley.org
to make a donation in support of our campership program.
Here’s to another incredible week at CDBC. Until there is a cure, there will be camp. We look forward to what the next year brings and are counting down the days until CDBC 2019!
In Hoops,
Chris Dudley
