Gales Creek Camp

for Children with Type 1 Diabetes

UPDATE: We did it!


Huge thanks to this amazing Gales Creek Camp community. In just over two weeks, you raised over $22,700 for the kids of GCC.


Thanks to the wonderful Martin family for matching every donation made, all the way up to $10,000!


Thanks also to the anonymous donor (father of two 1980s campers) who reached out as we neared that $20,000 mark to pledge to match another $1,000 in donations. You inspired even more donors!


Brothers Keith and Scott Martin went to camp in the 1960s. Like most kids who go to GCC, the experience stuck with them for their entire lives. When Scott unexpectedly passed away, Keith and their sister, Chrys, decided to do something special to recognize his memory. So they're making a legacy gift of $100,000 to the Gales Creek Camp Endowment Fund that will provide financial support for Gales Creek Campers in perpetuity.


Then they stepped forward again with a pledge to match every donation made directly to the Campership Fund through October, up to $10,000.

Gales Creek Camp is a place where children and teenagers with type 1 diabetes from all over the Pacific Northwest have a blast while connecting with other kids living with the same challenges.

This is the place where a type 1 isn't the only 1.

Our goal is to help each child grow toward living an active, independent life. Through a traditional summer camp experience filled with friendships and antics—running, swimming, hiking, field games, arts, drama, campfires, and all around summer fun—Gales Creek Campers first and foremost get the opportunity to meet peers and mentors who share the same challenges they do. Cleverly disguised at pure fun, a week of camp builds friendships, confidence, and a renewed sense of self.

In the background, campers start to learn some of the self-care habits that will help them grow into healthy adults. They may learn to test themselves and give injections, or they may try changing their own pump site for the first time.  They may start to see how food and exercise interact with insulin, or how sports, illness and stress affect diabetes. Ultimately, through supported practice and peer inspiration, we want them to gain confidence to begin to manage their own bodies. 

Staff members, many who have diabetes themselves, model healthy habits and demonstrate that children with diabetes are not limited by their diagnosis. Perhaps most important of all, Gales Creek Campers learn that diabetes does not prevent them from living active, satisfying lives.

Get to know Gales Creek Camp and get engaged by exploring our website.