Tears were shed Wednesday night as children and adults spoke of their experiences with HIV and AIDS. The Journey of Hope, the HIV/AIDS awareness program presented last night, provided the large audience with a chance to hear campers and counselors from Camp Heartland share personal stories.
Camp Heartland, founded by Neil Willenson in 1993, is a camp for children who are impacted either directly or indirectly by HIV and AIDS. Willenson, who is also a UW-Madison alum, said he wanted to start the camp so these children could experience both the thrills of summer camp and unconditional love and acceptance.
\[The campers] can speak openly at camp,"" Willenson said.
Four girls involved in the camp shared their personal struggles but also urged the crowd to cherish the moments they have with their loved ones, not be afraid of people with HIV and tell someone about HIV because it can save a life.
Perhaps the most moving message came from an 11-year old girl who was born with HIV, which she contracted through her mother.
""You have a choice. I did not. Make healthy choices,"" she said.
Lena Elliott, the camp's Education Programs Manager and a UW-Madison graduate, emphasized HIV is preventable because it is not transmitted casually.
According to Elliott, Camp Heartland organizes five camp sessions each summer with a total of 500 campers. Every camper attends camp for free as a result of fundraising from various student organizations.
Students for Camp Heartland and Humorology are two of the organizations on the UW-Madison campus that raise money for campers.
UW-Madison junior and member of SFCH Erin Lindvall, explained SFCH organizations exist across the United States but UW-Madison is the biggest branch.
She said the organization's three goals are community service, education of HIV and AIDS in middle and high schools, and camp fundraising.
The Journey of Hope will start a tour this April in Minneapolis and will travel through Madison, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Phoenix, Las Vegas and end in Los Angeles.
As the bus passes through Madison, the group will be a part of Humorology on April 8 and 9. UW-Madison sophomore and member of the Humorology Board Lisa Knox said Humorology is a comedic musical production within the Greek system consisting of six pairs of fraternities and sororities. Money raised from the show goes to Camp Heartland and the Chris Farley Foundation, she said.
