Camp Dragonfly Forest
DRAGONFLY FOREST WAS CONCEIVED FROM A SKIING EXPERIENCE THAT GAVE LAURA JANSEN, FOUNDER, THE CHANCE TO "FEEL JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE."
A few years ago my husband and I were registering our five-year old son for his first skiing lessons. When we finished registering, the instructor asked if I were going to ski as well. Since I was sitting in a wheelchair I thought it obvious that I would not be skiing and I thought, "What a silly question." When she asked why not, I pointed to the wheelchair. The instructor suggested I look into their adaptive ski program. I did, and by that afternoon I was suited up in borrowed ski clothes, strapped into a remarkable contraption called a bi-ski, on the chair lift and heading up the mountain.
I will never forget the extraordinary feeling I had as we stopped at the top of the mountain to enjoy our glorious surroundings. As I looked at the magnificent view that unfolded around me, I turned to see other skiers admiring the same view. At that moment, I thought, "This is it ... I am skiing, just like everyone else."
Out of Laura's experience on that mountain came the idea to create a summer camp for kids with serious illnesses - so they too could feel "just like everyone else."
Delta Epsilon Mu adopted Camp Dragonfly Forest as their national philanthropy at the fraternity's summer National Convention on July 19th, 2015. Since then, DEM members have served at camper as medical interns, counselors, and even unit leaders and activity directors after coming back for a few years!
Delta Epsilon Mu is committed to assisting Dragonfly Forest in their mission to provide a camp environment where campers are not limited by their medical conditions and are instead provided with their place to soar!
