Welcome to Camp.

Birch Family Camp is a decades-long story about radical joy and unconditional love confronting pain, loss and the deep-rooted stigma of HIV.

A one-of-a-kind experience, Birch is a summer camp that serves families from the New York City area who are affected by HIV or AIDS.

Despite life-saving medical advancements in the treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS, the community we serve continues to live with the shame, isolation and burden of stigma. Not to mention the daily hardships that pile up when raising a family in one of the most expensive cities in the world.

For one long weekend in August, in the Connecticut woods, Birch Camp allows those challenges to be set aside, if even for a moment.

It’s a place where kids are just kids, parents get a break and the restorative power of nature is undeniable. Where silliness is whole-heartedly embraced.

The biggest issues are tackled in tutus. The most sensitive conversations are had covered in glitter. And the deepest connections are made around a campfire.

Over the years, the nature of camp has evolved, but our purpose has never changed: to give love and respite to people who receive too little of both in their everyday lives. And to do it like only Birch can.