Time Magazine Profiles Camp for Kids With HIV/AIDS

In its Aug. 12 issue, Time magazine profiles Camp Heartland, an 80-acre camp in Willow River, Minn., that allows children with HIV/AIDS to "get away from the insularity of their illness" during the summer. The camp was founded by Neil Willenson in 1993 after he saw how a five-year-old boy with HIV was "mistreated" by his peers and their parents. Willenson said he wanted to create a camp where children with HIV could experience a week of "normal childhood" and have "fun like ordinary kids before they died." Willenson initially thought the camp would be a one-time stop for most of the children, but the advent of antiretroviral therapy has meant that the camp has many return visitors each summer. The full profile, along with interviews and a photo essay, is available online (Stodghill, Time, 8/12).