Volunteering for Kids with Celiac at Gilmont

Tara Phillips shares at the end of the week of the 2017 Great Gluten Escape Summer Camp at Gilmont.  She is one of two Girl Scouts who worked with Dallas ROCK (Raising Our Celiac Kids) to start this week long camp for kids at Gilmont that is completely Gluten Free.  14 years later she is committed to a week of volunteering at Gilmont as part of this special ministry.

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"This past week… where do I even begin? The campers, Camp Gilmont, the counselors, the theme… 
It’s hard to believe that 14 years ago this camp was just a tiny dream in the heads of a couple Girl Scouts and a couple moms of Celiacs. 14 years later here sit 55 campers, 9 jr counselors, 17 counselors, and 11 staff. 
To the counselors: Your energy and patience amazed me daily. Every one of you showed so much maturity but knew how to bring the fun and keep everyone smiling all week long. I had so much fun with you all this week. Thank you.
To the campers: You are the reason I come back year after year. Your smiles as you experience camp as a “normal” camper; participating in canoeing, zipline, crafts, games, swimming and then going through the lunch line where EVERYTHING you see is something you can eat is priceless. Thank you. 
To the kitchen staff/volunteers: Cooking for this many is never an easy task, but add in dietary restrictions and it is so much harder. Because of the nature of cooking Gluten Free almost every thing is made from scratch and from fresh ingredients so it takes much longer than preparing a normal camp meal. The extra love put into this week’s meals did not go unnoticed. Thank you. 
To the donors: The cost of this camp would be astronomical without you. With your donations Camp Gilmont offers this camp at the SAME price as any of their other summer camps. Thank you.
To Camp Gilmont: You are one special place. One camper evaluation said, “Camp Gilmont made them forget that they had Celiac disease”. That right there. Its everything. Many other evaluations said that Camp Gilmont is “Home”. Considering these kids have a life altering disease, and camp makes them comfortable enough to call it home, means we are doing something right. Thank you. 
To my amazing husband and family: You kept things running smoothly in my absence and I did not have to worry for a second if my babies were missing me. Thank you. 
To my awesome roommate: Thanks for the laughs, and being just as big (if not more) of a Harry Potter nerd as I am. I had a blast. 
As a wise Professor Dumbledore once said “Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.” I hope that this last week was a light for many, it definitely was for me."
(visit our Great Gluten Escape Facebook Page by clicking the link below!)