2008 has gotten off to a difficult start for O’Leary’s
Clover Farm. After a challenging year of fundraising we were very excited to
open our doors to families in February for the Kick Off Family Weekend.
However, Mother Nature had other ideas.
With families, volunteers and medical staff
traveling from all over the Mid Atlantic, the resort was at the heart of a very
nasty ice storm.
After one foot of snow on top of a ¼ inch of ice hit
the night scheduled for registration it was clear that we had made the right
decision to postpone the weekend and keep everyone off the roads and safe in
their own homes.
Unfortunately, the weather was not the only thing working
against us this year.
With the economic troubles our nation is facing,
many Diabetic Camps and Family Weekends are reporting extremely low enrollment.
The
After meetings with Setebaid Services and a heartfelt
discussion within the Board of O’Leary’s Clover Farm it became obvious the
financial risk of opening a camp in the current economic conditions was too
large to precede with rescheduling our event.
Rather, the Board committed to re-directing our
funds to Immediately help the families who wish to attend established
Educational Family Weekends or to send their child to a Diabetic Summer
Camp but cannot afford to do so.
O’Leary’s Clover Farm will also look at ways to
support existing camps by expanding their programs with activities such as art,
archery, photography and music-in honor of Danny O’Leary.
While the Board is still exploring ways to proceed
with establishing a camp program, they are pleased to be able to move forward
from a strictly fundraising mode to begin the work we set out to do a few years
back- help improve the lives of children living with diabetes.
Financial Aid is now available to Campers from
Southwestern,
To Apply for Camper Sponsorship please call 703-395-0860 or Obtain an
O’Leary’s Clover Farm Sponsorship Form From Setebaid Services When Registering.