Trisomy 13 and 18 Week at Camp for Courageous Kids
We are so excited for our fourth annual Trisomy 13 and 18 Week at Center for Courageous Kids in Scottsville, KY August 4-8, 2026! Register below to join us for an unforgettable week where families come together to make precious memories while enjoying medically safe and accessible camping with their whole family.
We would love your support as we raise funds to make this dream come true. Donate without fees here.
Thank you for helping make this a life-changing experience for our families.
BECOME A SPONSOR
BECOME A SPONSOR
We warmly invite you to consider becoming a sponsor for this year’s Trisomy 13 and 18 Week at Camp for Courageous Kids. The Stella Effect is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and all donations are tax-deductible. Whether you are donating personally or as an organization, we’ve listed multiple sponsorship options below. Thank you for making this magical weekend possible. These memories together will last our families a lifetime and we couldn’t do it without YOU!
To avoid large fees, we kindly prefer donations be made by mailed check or here.
Mailed check to:
The Stella Effect, Inc.
P.O. Box 5668
Louisville, KY 40255
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$250+
Your sponsorship helps cover the cost of personalized and practical items—ranging from $20 to $50 each—like custom t-shirts, clenched fist earrings, tumblers, and personal misting fans that make summer camp a little more fun (and comfortable!) for our kids. A gift of $250 sponsors swag bags for an entire family.
Swag Bag Sponsors will be recognized in printed camp materials, on our website, and on our social platforms.You can email hello@thestellaeffect.org or click the button below to become a Swag Bag Sponsor, and we will contact you within two business days to coordinate your next steps! If donating online works best for you, you can donate here in order to avoid large fees.
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$500+
Travel is often one of the biggest barriers for our medical families. Your sponsorship helps us provide travel vouchers to families who need support getting to camp—whether it's help with flights, gas, hotel stays, or rental cars.
Travel Sponsors will be recognized in printed camp materials, on our website, and on our social media platforms.You can email hello@thestellaeffect.org or click the button below to become a Travel Sponsor, and we will contact you within two business days to coordinate your next steps! If donating online works best for you, you can donate here in order to avoid large fees.
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$1,000+
This is the cost of sending one family to Camp for Courageous Kids which includes the cost of accommodations, food and all camping activities, regardless of family size.
Fund-A-Family Sponsors will be recognized in printed camp materials, on our website, and on our social media platforms.
You can email hello@thestellaeffect.org or click the button below to become a Fund-A-Family Sponsor, and we will contact you within two business days to coordinate your next steps! If donating online works best for you, you can donate here in order to avoid large fees.
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$2,500+
Vendor Sponsors help us preserve the magic of camp through professional photography, videography, and other creative services. These captured moments become priceless keepsakes for our families and help tell the story of what this week means to our community.
Vendor Sponsors will be recognized in printed camp materials, on our website, and on our social media platforms.You can email hello@thestellaeffect.org or click the button below to become Vendor Sponsor, and we will contact you within two business days to coordinate your next steps! If donating online works best for you, you can donate here in order to avoid large fees.
CCK FAMILIES 2025
MEET OUR Campers
MEET OUR Angel Families
Center For Courageous Kids 2025
Commonly Asked Questions
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CCK builds the itinerary around the specific families who are coming. Activities such as horseback riding, fishing, swimming, woodworking, mini golf, bowling, archery, music, therapy, arts and crafts, and others are all options. CCK builds the itinerary for our kids and accommodates as many activities as possible. For example, for swimming, CCK has a lift that lifts our kids into the pool when needed and a lifeguard gets them in and out of the pool. Another example, there are special harnesses for horseback riding that make this possible for our kids.
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Families provide medical care for their campers; however, they may bring their own nurse to assist with medical care if needed. These nurses can stay in the room with the family. CCK will also have a medical staff member present 24/7 in case of emergency. The camp is located 1.2 miles from the local emergency department and 3 miles from the local ambulance service. Additionally, CCK has a helipad if air transport to a hospital is needed. CCK has a program and medical staff who are trained and experienced in all aspects of medical camping. If you need medical care during your stay, our Medical Center is the place to be! The medical facility is equipped to be very supportive in a “behind the scenes” way. Medical care is provided by volunteer physicians and nurses coordinated by our full-time Medical Director, Hannah Reckart. Please contact her with any of your medical questions. hreckart@courageouskids.org 270-618-2900 ext. 224.
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Yes! Many families in the past have brought their nurses. The nurse will need to register as a family member and will lodge with the family. This person will not count as the other guardian spot.
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Absolutely! CCK volunteers are always supervising the families and if there are any issues, the CCK staff will take care of all problems. There are lifeguards located around the pool, there is a lift to help get children in and out of the pool. For Equestrian riding, there is someone there holding the children as they ride around. Medical staff are located around the camp. The camp takes precautions based on the children who are attending.
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CCK loves to have medical staff at camp who have experience with that specific diagnosis. It is a wonderful benefit for the campers and their families. It can also connect CCK with medical professionals and we can learn more about the diagnosis as well. If you have a doctor or nurse in your life who is experienced with T13 or 18 who might be interested in joining as a medical staff volunteer, please contact the medical director, Hannah Reckart, hreckart@courageouskids.org 270-618-2900 ext. 224.
Here is the application for your nurse or doctor to apply to be a medical volunteer:
https://www.courageouskids.org/medical-volunteer-application/
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Each family will have their own room and bathroom unless families choose to room together.
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There are microwaves available in the dining center.
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Yes! Every room and cabin has electricity.
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There are 3 ways to keep food or medicine refrigerated. The first is the refrigerator in the dining hall. The second is to ask Yvonne (Dining Director) to store the items in the walk in cooler in the back of the dining hall. And lastly, families can bring a cooler to keep in their lodge. CCK has an ice machine that can be used to keep it full and cool. If your child needs food or medicine through the night, a volunteer or medical staff can bring it to you from the large refrigerator.
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Yes! Here is the volunteer form if you are interested in being a volunteer!
https://www.courageouskids.org/volunteer-application/
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The goal is that by applying, you are committing to doing your best to come. The sooner your application is completed, the higher on the list of accepted campers you will be, so please apply asap.
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Absolutely! The CCK staff fully understand that emergency medical reasons happen. The closer to camp that you cancel, the less likely, CCK will be able to fill your spot, so we only ask that you do your best to come and cancel early if you need to.
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Service dogs are allowed to attend with the families.
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CCK understands that a healthy, nutritional, and kid friendly menu is an important part of the camp experience. Each summer, we strive to meet our campers’ dietary needs and restrictions.
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Please read the Q&A in full for any answers to your questions. If you still have questions, please contact the following CCK staff.
For questions about your application or general questions, please contact the Admissions Officer, Joanie Ford, jford@courageouskids.org 270-618-2900 ext. 277.
For medical questions, please contact the Medical Director, Hannah Reckart., hreckart@courageouskids.org 270-618-2900 ext. 224.
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The Center for Courageous Kids is a not-for-profit medical camp facility founded by the late Ms. Elizabeth Turner Campbell and opened in 2008. She was inspired to create a place where children living with life threatening illnesses and their families could come free of charge and have fun, find respite, and forget about their everyday struggles. Now in its 12th year, CCK has served over 35,000 medically fragile campers and their families. Campers have come from 45 different U.S. States and 13 foreign countries. CCK continues to change the lives of thousands of children and families every year.
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"The Center for Courageous Kids INSPIRES, EMPOWERS, ENHANCES children with serious illnesses"
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CCK is located in Scottsville, Kentucky.
Address:
The Center for Courageous Kids
1501 Burnley Rd, Scottsville, KY 42164
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July 29th- August 2nd, 2025.
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Here is the link to apply:
https://cck.campin1.com
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If your family applied for CCK in 2023, you won’t need to create a new account and re-register. You will only need to log-in to your existing account and update any information as needed and select Trisomy 13 and 18 Week as your camp.
If you have never applied for camp, go to the link to register above, create an account, and go through the registration process.
*For all to read*
You will need to choose Trisomy 13 and 18 Week as your camp for 2024.
Make sure to select The Stella Effect as the organization when applying for your application to be at the top of applicants.
Please add your child with Trisomy 13 or 18 as the camper.
Your application is not complete until it says 100%.
Once everyone is at 100%, an invitation will be sent via email from Joanie Ford if you're one of the first 32 families. Please monitor your spam/junk folder for communications. These invitations do expire after 72 hours. If you do not respond to that invitation, then the invite goes to the next family in line.
The Stella Effect has no part in selecting camper families.
If you have any questions regarding your application, please contact the Admissions Officer, Joanie Ford, jford@courageouskids.org 270-618-2900 ext. 277.
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Campers and their families come to CCK at no cost. The Stella Effect and CCK cover these costs together.
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The Stella Effect will help with the costs of travel if we can. This all depends on the funds we have to help between now and then and whether travel companies are willing to donate. We will communicate with you throughout the process. Once you apply, we will be sending out a Google form to learn more about your travel needs and contact you from there. The earlier you finish your application, the higher on the list you will be for us to see if we can help. If we cannot cover the costs and you therefore can’t attend, the next applicant in line will be accepted to camp. We were able to help every family who needed travel assistance in 2023 and hope to be able to again. We would love your support fundraising to make this dream a reality for all our families.
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No! Families from everywhere are invited to CCK weekend. We invite all Trisomy 13 or 18 families from all over the World.
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Yes! Two guardians and siblings are invited to join in on the fun!
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Absolutely. CCK wants every family member to get the full CCK experience. Siblings in our 2023 camp had the time of their lives. There’s plenty to do for everyone!
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Yes! Families have brought newborns to CCK weekend!
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CCK offers a great mix of indoor and outdoor activity options for every child to choose something they will enjoy doing. There are many opportunities to freely choose activities within the planned program schedule so that every child can try something new!
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CCK will make sure the itinerary is created perfectly for our families. CCK has perfected making activities as accessible as possible for all.
