Mission
Camp del Corazon Inc. is a 501(c)(3) Non-profit corporation, providing a free of charge summer camp for children with heart disease. All proceeds are spent on the camp, and it's programming, and staffed entirely by volunteers.

Lisa Knight, RN - Executive Director & Co-founder Executive Board Kevin Shannon, MD -Medical Director & Co-founder Tom Klitzner, MD Bill Cabeen, MD Janene Hogan Michael Paseornak Arnold, Tom

Advisory Board Antolick, Arthur Barnett, William Coelho, James Russell Barlow, Esq. Hunt, Kathleen, RN Plunkett, Mark, M.D. Shiner, John Stevenson, William Gregory, M.D.

Messages from our Board

1. Message from Lisa Knight RN, Executive Director
2. Message from Kevin Shannon MD and Lisa Knight RN
3. A insight on the future of Camp del Corazon

About Us: Camp del Corazon is an organization that provides a medically supervised, residential summer camp for children ages 7-17 who are living with heart disease, as well as additional programs for these children and their families.Located on Catalina Island, 22 miles off the California coastline, our camp has served approximately 300 children each year for the past 15 years. Having begun with a volunteer staff of two, 49 campers and a minimal budget, our growth and success stands as a testament to our steady commitment to the population we serve.

We offer our camping program free-of-charge, as the families affected by this disease already incur incredible financial burdens from medical bills and often have to seek private or home schooling due to the numerous doctors’ appointments and hospital stays these children require. Children with congenital heart disease are the most underserved pediatric population in the nation, and funding and resources for these children are very scarce. The overwhelming amount of funds raised by prominent charities goes toward adults with coronary artery disease, heart attack and stroke. There is much attention paid to adults with heart disease, but virtually nothing for children born with damaged hearts.

The children served by Camp del Corazon are not eligible for the summer camping experience offered by other member agencies of the American Camping Association due to the fact that they require round-the-clock medical supervision and care. Many of these children have had several open-heart surgeries, pacemakers, and/or heart transplants, and many face several more surgeries in their futures. These children and their families live every day knowing that they are at a high-risk for mortality. Our camp offers an opportunity to finally be ‘normal,’ to forget their ailments and to connect with others who have had similar experiences and scars. For most of these children, this is the only experience they have away from home, as they are often too sick to go on vacations or to even stay overnight at a friend’s house, away from their parents, who have to monitor their health on a 24-hour basis. Parents of children with heart conditions are often fearful that activities enjoyed by ‘normal’ kids could be harmful. There are very few camps with the ability or medically trained staff to provide for these special needs children, or places that their parents would trust.

Sending 150 children to each camp session along with over 80 volunteer staff is an enormous under-taking. The approximate cost per child for the 5-day camp is $1,200, which does not take into account the volunteer staff and counselors’ time and experience. With the exception of office staff, Camp del Corazon is run entirely on a volunteer basis. We offer a full camping experience including sleeping in a cabin, nature walks, rock wall climbing, ropes course, arts & crafts, and many other recreational activities and programs associated with a traditional summer camp. We also provide an environment that offers support and self-esteem building and socialization that these children do not otherwise have access to.

Impact of camp studies prove that camp helps to strengthen the confidence and self-esteem of children and your support will give these very special children life-altering experiences that cannot be put into words. As a testament to the impact the camp has on these young souls, most return year after year to relive experiences they can get nowhere else. Still, there are hundreds of children we are not able to serve each year due to the tremendous resources required to make it happen.

Camp del Corazon enriches the lives of children living with heart disease. We are more than just a summer camp though. Not only do we provide a summer camp experience for children, but we also provide opportunities for growth, education and support through family symposiums and leadership programs. Additionally, we host an Educational Symposium (funded by the American Heart Association) for families from all over the nation that are affected by heart disease and a Leadership Program for young adults who are no longer age-eligible for our camp. As our camper population has matured, we have found that there are no specific programs designed for the 18-25 year olds who are going through the transition phases into adulthood while living with their medical problems and issues. In response to this, we have created forums and weekends for these young adults to provide additional self-esteem and personal growth programs, as well as continued support.

We thank you for your consideration to support our camp.

Web site Linking

Knight, Lisa R.N.
Co-Founder
Executive Director
UCLA Medical Center
Pediatric Electrophysiology Service
lisa.knight@campdelcorazon.org

Meet our Board of Directors

Shannon, Kevin M.D. Co-Founder/ Pres Mattel Children’s Hospital at UCLA Director Pediatric Electrophysiology Kshannon@campdelcorazon.org
Cabeen, William M.D. In Memoriam	Klitzner, Thomas M.D., Ph.D. Mattel Children’s Hospital at UCLA Director Pediatric Cardiology tklitzner@mednet.ucla.edu
Paseornek, Michael Lions Gate Entertainment Company MPaseornek@campdelcorazon.org	Hogan, Janene Rancon Real Estate Jhogan@campdelcorazon.org
Arnold, Tom Actor

Contact Us

Corporate Office
11615 Hesby Street
North Hollywood, CA 91601-3620
information@campdelcorazon.org
(818) 754-0312
Fax (818) 754-0842
Toll Free Message Center (888) 621-4800

Davi Golf Classic Office
41833 Carleton Way
Temecula, CA 92591-2800
(951) 265-9718
Fax (951) 676-7196

E-Mail List

• Lisa Knight - Executive Director: Lisa@campdelcorazon.org
• Kevin Shannon, MD - Medical Director
• Ronya Waters - Sr. Development Director: Ronya@campdelcorazon.org
• Chrissie Endler - Program Director: Chrissie@campdelcorazon.org
• Melanie Mamakos - Office Administrator: Melanie@campdelcorazon.org
• Kristina Wallace - Development Director: Kristina@campdelcorazon.org
  
  
• General information
• Donations
• Camper Registration
• Volunteer