ABOUT CAMP ARANZAZU

What is Camp Aranzazu? | Who attends Camp Aranzazu? | Why a camp for those with special needs? | History
Where is Camp Aranzazu? | Board of Directors | Board Officers

WHAT IS CAMP ARANZAZU?

Camp Aranzazu (pronounced Ah ran' zah zoo) is a not-for-profit, year-round camp facility specially designed to serve the needs of people with chronic illnesses or disabilities. The barrier-free facility features paved walkways to assist wheelchair travel, specialized equipment to enable maximum participation in water sports and other physical activities, as well as a medical facility for campers requiring daily medications.

The camp seeks to create and maintain a partnership between the campers and the land that preserves and protects the existing habitat for native and endangered species of plants and animals, and complements the history of the area and local community. Many community partners have joined together to help make the camp experience extraordinary and unique from any other camp program. Some of these community partners include the Rockport Center for the Arts, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife, and the Mid-Coast Chapter of Texas Master Naturalists, Inc.

WHO ATTENDS CAMP ARANZAZU?

Camp Aranzazu welcomes organizations that sponsor camps for children and young adults with conditions such as cancer, muscular dystrophy, asthma, diabetes, kidney disease, head and spinal cord injuries, heart defects, and cerebral palsy to name a few. Adult special needs groups are also included during the non-summer months.

Camp Aranzazu hosts many organizations at its camp facilities, including the following agencies:

American Diabetes Association - Coastal Bend Area

WHY A CAMP FOR THOSE WITH SPECIAL NEEDS?

The camp serves 42 South Texas counties, a 45,300 square mile area with 1.3 million persons with disabilities. No special needs camp of this type exists in South Texas while the need for one is great. The closest facility of this type is located 200 miles inland to the north of Corpus Christi, making travel lengthy and expensive for fragile children. In addition, other special needs camps have very little available space for camping programs from South Texas as they are full of campers from their own geographic areas.

Help A Child Be A Kid.

HISTORY

Young Rodrigo was tending sheep in the Basque region of Spain when a spiritual vision suddenly appeared. Perched in a menacing thorn bush, a beautiful lady holding an infant in her arms appeared before him. "Aranzan Zu!" he cried out, "You, in the thorns!"

Rodrigo's vision that summer day in 1469 became known as Our Lady of Aranzazu. A shrine was built on the site and the word Aranzazu came to mean a spiritual place requiring a difficult path to reach.

In 1746, Captain Joaquin Orobio y Basterra was commissioned to explore a lonely section of the western Gulf of Mexico. In the course of his travels he discovered a hidden cove thick with thorns from native coastal brush and appropriately named the bay Aranzazu. Pioneers and settlers followed and, over the years, Aranzazu evolved into Aransas.

We have adopted the name Aranzazu, and what it represents, for this place that will serve those who have difficult paths before them physical disabilities, chronic illnesses and terminal diseases. At Camp Aranzazu they will find respect, love and freedom from the obstacles that challenge them so that they may enjoy the independence so many take for granted.

WHERE IS CAMP ARANZAZU?

The camp is conveniently located on FM 1781 six miles from downtown Rockport, Texas, on Copano Bay at Live Oak Point. The camp comprises 86 of the most unique acres in the area, 25 of which are on the water-front with wetlands, and 61 acres are elevated and wooded, capturing gently blowing Gulf breezes. The camp boasts one of the highest points in Aransas County with an elevation of 37 feet. Camp Aranzazu's location was selected based on its proximity to water and to the population it will serve. Strategically located just 30 miles from Corpus Christi, the camp can serve all types of children from as far north as Houston, extending west to San Antonio and south to the southernmost tip of the state, while keeping campers close to a major medical facility, Driscoll Children's Hospital in Corpus Christi.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

BOARD OFFICERS

Tom L. Forney
President/CEO

John Watson
Vice-President

James R. Wilkinson
Treasurer

Tama Brooks Klosek
Secretary