One year ago, a three-year-old Alabama boy was told he couldn't swim in a pool because he was H-I-V positive.
Julie Pearce tells us how that same little boy is now getting a pool at a Minnesota summer camp named in his honor.
Located along a dirt road in Willow River and against the grain of injustice, Camp Heartland exists as a dead end for discrimination and a conduit for change.
Ohhhhhhhhhhh
It's here where thousands of children have found unconditional acceptance despite the social stigma of being children with HIV and AIDS.
"There isn't a bunch of controversy here, here's nothing but fun, there's no people being mean just to be mean, it's just everybody being nice to ya."
Camp Heartland, now known as One Heartland, is also home to a new pool dedicated to one particularly special 3- year old.
Caleb Glover gained national attention after the owners of an Alabama campground said he couldn't shower or swim there because of his diagnosis.
"When that happened, I was blown away because it was my first exposure to discrimination."
Organizers at Camp Heartland heard about Caleb's story and, with the help of Viking Pool, decided to build a swimming pool and name it after him.
"We all know that you cannot get HIV from being a friend, from swimming, from a hug, from a kiss, and that's why Caleb's here, he's going to be our first swimmer today, introducing the new Viking pool!"
Caleb also got to be the first one to take a dip.
"I wanna go swimming!"
"And despite the fun that's going on in the pool behind me, the fact still remains that these children deal with a very real disease on a daily basis. Until a real cure can be found, perhaps the best cure is hope."
"Keep living with that hope, because there is a lot of it... here, there is a lot of hope to have fun, to enjoy yourselves, to go out and swim."
For many like Caleb, the camp reminds these kids that their burden can become another's inspiration.
"He keeps us smiling, and he gives me a reason to get up every morning, and I love it. I wish everybody had a Caleb in their life, so I'm the lucky one!"
In Willow River, Julie Pearce, the Northlands NewsCenter.
In the past 15 years, Camp Heartland has provided nearly 7,000 summer camp experiences and continues to provide year round support to children and youth affected by HIV/ AIDS.
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