Great fun at the National Allergy Council Allergy 250K Sydney camp 2024

Some of the 10-17 year olds attending had not been to any sort of camp before and were able to participate in activities that had nothing to do with their allergies but which gave them an opportunity to challenge themselves.

Plenty of new friendships were developed and peer mentors were able to share their experiences with younger people.

The National Allergy Council (NAC) held another Allergy 250K camp in March. This year it was on beautiful Sydney Harbour at Chowder Bay.

The National Allergy Council has been running camps for school-aged teens (10-17 years) and young adults since 2019.

The aim of these camps is to give young people with food allergies the opportunity to attend a camp where their food allergies are really understood, and where they can meet others who face similar challenges to them.

The difference between the Allergy 250k camps and other camps is that having food allergy doesn’t make you different from anyone else. 36 kids aged 10–17 years attended two fun-packed days that included kayaking, snorkelling and team activities. Alongside them were 10 peer mentors aged 18–27yrs, and 13 staff and volunteers (including a doctor, a psychologist, nurses, dietitians, and NAC staff).

A total of 66 different food allergies were catered for and as far as we are aware, no one went hungry!

While there was some time spent learning about managing their food allergies, it seems that the highlight was the sharing of experiences with others who understood and getting to do fun stuff.

If you think you know a 10-17 year old or young adult who may benefit from attending an Allergy 250K camp in the future, check the Allergy 250k website, subscribe to Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia (A&AA) and follow the NAC and A&AA social media sites for announcements.