
Created in 1985 as an independent, registered 501(c) (3) charity organization, Camp Fiesta is the official pediatric oncology camp of the Children’s Cancer Caring Center. Camp Fiesta is South Florida’s first and largest camp for children with cancer, and is located in Broward County’s beautiful Birch State Park, under full medical supervision.
Each summer, over 50 CCCC youngsters between the ages of 8 and 18 become stronger physically and emotionally, and enjoy Camp Fiesta’s 9-day, fun-filled sleep-away camp, where independence away from home and family environment is encouraged, and where children with cancer can be around other children who understand and appreciate the ordeal of battling cancer.
In 1991, Camp Fiesta underwent a major expansion, allowing a greater number of cancer-stricken children, not only from the CCCC, but from other hospitals as well, to participate in this outstanding camp, made possible through the generosity of the Ethel and W. George Kennedy Family Foundation, Inc.
Camp Fiesta features a wide range of activities including swimming and sports, trips to the beach, canoeing, fishing, arts and crafts, with sleeping accommodations in tree-shaded, newly-renovated, air-conditioned cabins equipped with TVs and DVD players. The joyful Camp Fiesta experience is augmented by exciting South Florida field trips, and a three-day/two night travel adventure to Disney World, Universal Studios and Busch Gardens. Judge Marilyn Milian, star of television’s “The People’s Court”, has held “Campers’ Court” where campers and counselors participate as plaintiffs, defendants, attorneys and witnesses in an educational mock trial.
Camp Fiesta is medically staffed around the clock and boasts a counselor-to-camper ratio of 1 to 2. Many of the counselors are themselves cancer survivors who were former campers. Camp Fiesta is funded exclusively through private donations. The result of community support and total volunteerism of its Board of Directors and camp counselors, Camp Fiesta is lovingly referred to by the campers as “The Greatest Camp in the History of the World.”