For those of you who have been following my blog for the past year, you know my life has been touched by VACC Camp, a unique camp hosted by Miami Children’s Hospital every Spring for ventilation assisted children (children needing a tracheostomy ventilator, C-PAP, BiPAP, or oxygen to support breathing) and their families. Last year, I was commissioned by the hospital to document the 25th Anniversary year of the camp. I spent the entire week getting to know not only the wonderful campers and their families but the people who work the whole year round to make the camp a reality and the many young volunteers who give up their Spring Break to care for these challenged children. It’s a life-altering experience for all involved. I wrote about my experience at the camp and produced a short video from all my footage that helped earn the program $25,000 from the Mercedes Benz “Community Stars” program.
Over the past year, I have continued shooting post-camp interviews with several of the families and hope to have a full-length documentary film on the camp completed by this summer. This past week, however, I stopped by the camp to spend an afternoon with the campers and volunteers on “Pool Day”, the day where the campers, many of whom are connected to ventilators 24 hours a day, get to go “swimming” in the large pool at A.D. Barnes Park in Miami. It’s one of the highlights of the camp.
Having my Panasonic GH2 on hand, I couldn’t help but shoot some video as the kids began being lowered into the pool. The rest of the story can best be told in this short video I produced. Hope you enjoy it…
For more information on this amazing camp, please visit www.vacccamp.com
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5 comments
This is beautifully shot and produced, Dan! But this is so sad. These poor children. It really makes you stop and think just how lucky we are. These kids go through so much and yet still manage to have a smile on their face.
Thanks, J.
I filmed the entire camp last year (hoping to finish up that documentary film by this summer). I went in there thinking I was going to feel sorry for these kids but I soon realized that these kids don’t feel sorry for themselves and many of them have an unbelievably positive outlook on life. Really an amazing camp.
Our children are truly an inspiration to us all….to me my baby Bree is my undercover superhero! Thank you Dan for sharing with the world.
[…] VACC Camp: Spring Break for Ventilator Assisted Children […]
[…] camera in hand) and have created short videos from select days at the camp. In 2012 it was “Pool Day” and in 2013 I was there when the good folks at Therapy Dogs, Inc. brought their special dogs […]