Dream Oaks Camp

Dream Oaks Camp is a program of Foundation for Dreams that serves children with special needs and chronic illnesses. The camp operates with a 3:1 camper to counselor ratio or better and has served children with 136 wide-ranging diagnoses. The program reports that 99% of children are meeting or progressing toward individual goals and that 100% of parents and caregivers have benefited from extended respite.

• Ages: 7–17 years old
• Schedule: Business hours Monday–Friday from 8am–4pm

Dream Oaks Camp is built on several pristine acres of Camp Flying Eagle and includes seven cabins that are barrier-free and inclusive to meet the needs of any child with special needs. The mission of Dream Oaks Camp is to celebrate the abilities and develop the comprehensive skill set of children with special needs and chronic illnesses ages 7–17 by collaborating with families to provide individualized result-based goals and family support in a camp environment. Foundation for Dreams is the only organization in Southwest Florida that provides year-round weekend and summer residential camp sessions for all children with varying ability levels and chronic and/or terminal medical conditions. While recuperating from a heart transplant surgery at Shands Hospital in 1995, Eddie Mulock was inspired to create the camp, and in August 2000 Foundation for Dreams partnered with the Southwest Florida Boy Scouts to build Dream Oaks Camp, welcoming 56 summer campers for the first time in 2001.

Foundation for Dreams and Dream Oaks Camp have been supported by the local community, including local and national businesses, corporations of all sizes, civic agencies, foundations, and direct public support. One parent shared that Dream Oaks Camp allowed their child independence, decision-making, and a sense of being “the star of the show,” and that the child returned home “a new and improved kid.”

Last updated May 31, 2026.