About Us
Our Mission:
Camp Celiac is committed to providing an exciting and adventurous week of camp while maintaining a totally gluten free diet for campers ages 8-16. The camp provides a safe environment to build long-lasting relationships and celebrates the joy of living life gluten free.
What is Camp Celiac?
Camp Celiac is a one-week summer camp for approximately 115 children and youth with Celiac Disease, ages 8-16. It is located at the site of Happiness is Camping (HIC) in beautiful Hardwick, New Jersey. The property is situated on 145 acres of woods, fields, and trails, including a pool, small lake for boating and fishing, archery range, ropes course, nature center, outdoor sports fields, a gymnasium, dining hall, health lodge, and much more. Our campers will stay in one of the 3 areas available to us. Each of these are climate controlled with attached bathroom facilities.
Camp Celiac and HIC have developed layers of safety measures over the years to ensure a safe gluten-free environment. Camp Celiac provides two full time, registered nurses who handle all non-emergency medical needs, including administering medications.
Camp Celiac is a camp for children with Celiac Disease. We are not staffed to handle other complex medical issues (such as Type 1 Diabetes). Please contact us by email at info@campceliac.org, prior to registering, as we may or may not be able to accept your camper. Please also note that the only additional food allergy we can accommodate is lactose-free. We are unable to accommodate dairy free or nut free campers.
The goal of Camp Celiac is to provide a healthy and nurturing environment for children with a focus on Celiac Disease specifically. While we at Camp Celiac would like to care for as many children as possible, we are not staffed or trained to handle significant physical, emotional, or behavioral issues that would detract from providing care to our population as a whole. This is a volunteer-staffed camp and our staffing resources are not at the appropriate level to best care for a child with significant issues. Please use your best judgment to determine if Camp Celiac is the right environment to meet your child’s needs. Camp Celiac is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization run entirely by volunteers. Investment in time and resources has already been made before camp starts, so if you are asked to pick up your child during camp week, your camper’s tuition will not be refunded.
Camp activities
We definitely keep our campers busy having fun! Our days are broken into many programming periods with most being by age group, but many involve all of us playing together. Activities are typically overseen by HIC staff and our volunteers. We get to know each other with interactive games, team building, and group initiatives throughout our time together.
The campers learn to get along with new people, make new friends, and solve questions as a group. We have arts and crafts, nature hikes, scavenger hunts, field games, swimming, boating, fishing, sports, lots of singing at mealtime, and snacks around the campfire. The older campers can use the zipline and high ropes, and participate in our version of the “Survivor Challenge”. These activities get the younger campers involved as they cheer on their favorite team competing in various camp challenges. Camp Celiac’s Survivor Challenge has become a favorite camp tradition among all of the age groups! In addition, the annual camp dance on Wednesday night has become a favorite tradition for many. We have a DJ who plays all the newest songs and the camper’s favorite dance tunes. And let’s not forget the carnival! The carnival is typically reserved for our younger campers not participating in the Survivor Challenge and includes field games, inflatable water slides, and a dunk tank where their favorite counselors volunteer to be “dunked” by their campers!
Camp History
Camp Celiac was started in July of 2000 as a weekend sleep-away camp for children with Celiac Disease. That weekend, fifty-two children were in attendance. The camp was so successful that the children begged for more, and thus Camp Celiac developed into a five-day sleep away camp catering entirely to the needs of the gluten-free diet. We typically have approximately 150 campers and staff coming from across the United States and abroad, having represented over 20 states, Canada, Israel, Sweden, Germany, Australia, and Italy.
Where is camp located?
Camp Celiac utilizes the facilities of Happiness is Camping (HIC), located in Hardwick, NJ, for one week each year. HIC is a non-profit, ACA-accredited overnight camp serving the families of children, ages 6-16, with cancer and sickle cell disease. These special children and their families are invited to come to this unique camp free of charge where they can put aside their illness and do what kids like to do…. have fun! HIC is able to offer this summer camp program for free thanks to generous support from their donors. Since its founding in 1981, HIC has hosted over 18,000 children. The camp is located on 145 acres in northwest New Jersey approximately 2 hours from Philadelphia, 1.5 hours from New York City, and 4.5 hours from Boston. The programs at HIC are just like any “traditional” camp. Campers have the opportunity to shoot archery, climb high ropes, play dodgeball, make arts & crafts, swim in the pool, go boating or fishing, and many other activities! This year, HIC will close down to all but Camp Celiac, so we can maintain a gluten-free site for our campers. Camp Celiac is excited to start our new partnership with the leadership and staff of HIC in 2024!
Do you want to mail a letter to your camper?
Campers First and Last Name
HIC/Camp Celiac
62 Sunset Lake Rd
Hardwick, NJ 07825