Wapiyapi was the inspiration of a group of medical students from the University of Colorado in the early 1990s who saw how pediatric cancer steals a child’s sense of normalcy and independence. They saw how time at school and with friends was lost and the simple joy of just ‘being a kid.’ With the belief that healing doesn’t only happen in the hospital, they took a handful of patients into the Rocky Mountains where cancer could be forgotten. Kids discovered the spontaneity and joy of being childlike again among caring adults and new friends.
From those early years when the students provided one-on-one support to each child, the organization has grown to serve over 200 children while still maintaining this unique, one-on-one volunteer attention. More than 1,600 children have been served since Wapiyapi incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in 1998, including both patients and their siblings at NO COST to their families. The organization became known as “Wapiyapi,” a Lakota Sioux word chosen by campers, which means health and healing.
The mission of Wapiyapi is to provide an exceptional camp experience that fosters friendships, fun and healing outside of the hospital to families facing childhood cancer. The organization’s flagship program, Camp Wapiyapi, draws families from across the Rocky Mountain region from both urban and rural areas, serving the widest range of ages: 6 to 17 years old.
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