Caroline Daggett, a Jackson native, has set her sights on bringing a unique camp experience to Mississippi residents.
Camp Discovery was created to give children living with a chronic skin condition a place to get to know other children with similar conditions.
Daggett, a graduate of Jackson Prep, is a third-year medical student at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. She is raising money for Camp Discovery and eventually hopes to bring the camp to the state.
“It’s like a regular camp, but every kid there has a chronic skin condition,” Daggett said. “So, the neat thing about it is in their everyday life, they’re the one that has something wrong on their skin. But at camp, everyone has a skin condition as well.
“So, it’s nice for them to see that they are not the only ones with something. They have that camaraderie with that.”
Daggett has always been interested in dermatology as a career and hopes to specialize in that field.
“In between finishing college and starting med school, I really wanted to volunteer and get involved in the community,” she said.
She stumbled upon Camp Discovery in her research on camps for children with medical conditions. It was a perfect fit.
“I have always been interested in (dermatology), even before I went to medical school,” she said. “I just find the skin fascinating. I feel like it’s a window into what’s going on inside the body since a lot of the things going on inside the body are reflected on the skin. And it’s the first thing you see when you see someone.”
Daggett decided to apply to be a camp counselor between her first and second years of medical school. She spent a week at the Minnesota camp.
“That was a really cool experience,” she said. “After that, I felt like I kind of got to see what it’s like to have a chronic skin condition. I saw the clinical aspect of it, as a medical student speaking to a patient. Then, I got to see it from the patient’s point of view. So, I feel like that camp changed my perspective on a lot of things, and it has a special place in my heart now.”
After that, she decided she wanted to be as involved as she could be with Camp Discovery. Her goal is to bring the camp to Mississippi.
“That’s kind of why I started fundraising,” she said. “Because I would love to bring it to Mississippi for Mississippi kids to experience it.”
Daggett has been handing out fliers that feature a link to her fundraising page. Those who wish to donate can go to that page to give.
The goal on the site is currently set at $1,000, but for Daggett, the sky is the limit.
“I don’t want to set a (monetary) limit on it,” she said. “I want to do just as much as I can.”
Eventually she would like to expand her fundraising efforts to include maybe a raffle or something like it.
Since it is free to the families who participate, the camp thrives due to the donations from groups and individuals. Approximately 380 children participate each year.
The American Academy of Dermatology sponsors six weeks of camp, including transportation costs, each summer in five different locations.
“All of the funding comes from donations so that the camp can run,” Daggett said. “They don’t charge the kids or counselors.”
Camp activities include fishing, swimming, archery, horseback riding, nature trails and other fun.
Camp Discovery is a week-long camp for children with conditions ranging from eczema and psoriasis, to vitiligo and alopecia, to epidermolysis bullosa and ichthyosis.
While spending the week with others with similar skin conditions, the children are under the expert care of dermatologists.
Some counselors have chronic skin conditions as well, which allows them to give advice and support to the campers.
To attend Camp Discovery, children must be referred to the Academy of Dermatology for admission.
Dermatologists can refer patients by downloading the referral form on the academy’s website and sending it in by email or fax.
For more information, contact jmueller@aad.org or call 847-240-1737. To donate to Daggett’s fundraiser, visit the American Academy of Dermatology website.
