Mission & History 

Mission:

The mission of the Camp Surefire Foundation is to enrich and support the lives of children, families, and young adults living with T1D through year-round programming, community building and support, and overnight camp experiences.  

History: 

Camp Surefire started in 1999 as Rhode Island’s only camp for children and teens with Type 1 diabetes. In 2009, the non-profit who originally founded and ran the camp dissolved and the Camp Surefire Foundation was born. We hosted 44 campers that first summer with 95% of our campers hailing from Rhode Island. Over the past 15 years, we have continued to grow and evolve in a safe and sustainable way. In 2024, we had 95 campers registered for camp – more than double the number from 2009 and pulling from a much broader geographic area across New England.

Camp Surefire’s signature program – our week-long, overnight summer camp – is made possible by more than 75 volunteers who offer their time and talents to ensure a safe, fun, and memorable camp experience for our campers each summer. Camp Surefire has an extraordinarily strong retention rate for our campers and staff. Campers who started attending camp when they were 7 years old are now college graduates serving as counselors, program directors, and medical staff.

Camp Surefire offers a strong teaching program where local college students (pre-med, nursing, pharmacy, nutrition, health sciences) can participate in hands-on service learning during camp week and learn first-hand about caring for children with T1D. Many of these students have come back to camp year after year and are now volunteering as med staff professionals. This opportunity has increased the number of local health professionals who have a better understanding of what a T1D diagnosis means to a family, the challenges that their patient may face, and the limitless potential of what their patient will be able to accomplish.

As the Camp Surefire Foundation has grown and evolved over the years, we offer a longer overnight camp experience and serve more individual campers. We have also added a teen camp weekend to our calendar, host camp reunion events during the year, and partner with other like-minded organizations to provide additional resources and engagement opportunities for the T1D community.

My son Isaac will be 12 years old this year and has been a Type 1 diabetic since he was 3 years old.  We first heard about Camp Surefire from another camper.  She told Isaac how amazing it was. He couldn’t wait to turn 6 so he could attend. He looks forward to it and talks about camp all year long!  He loves the camp songs at the nightly campfire but his favorite part is the cookie bakeoff!  The week he is at camp is the only time that I feel 100% safe that Isaac will be looked after. 
Kelly, Isaac's mother

I’ve been going to Camp Surefire since I was 7 years old and it’s the one thing I look forward to in the summer. Camp Surefire is the one place where I feel like I can truly be myself without worrying about being judged and where I build the strongest bonds.

Paola, age 16

My 11-year-old daughter Kali had her first experience at Camp Surefire last summer and she loved every moment of it. This camp was the highlight of her entire childhood, so far. Camp Surefire brought out the positive of her disease and made her happy again. This camp gives Type 1 children the chance to have a normal childhood and give us parents the comfort of knowing that our children are enjoying themselves and they are safe.

Kristen, Kali's mother

Camp Surefire’s Medical Director, Dr. Greg Fox, talked about the future of diabetes care on GoLocalProv.

Thank you GoLocalProv for highlighting this important topic!