A Safe Place to Grow: Jordan’s Journey at the Bayer Den

Celebrating National AccessAbility Week at YMCA Wanakita

At first glance, YMCA Wanakita in Haliburton, Ontario, looks like any other classic summer camp: cabins nestled among tall pines, laughter echoing across the lake, and campers diving into adventures that ignite their potential. But hidden within this natural paradise is something unique—something transformative. It’s called the Bayer Den, and for campers like Jordan, it’s not just a building. It’s a home.

Jordan, now 30, has lived with hemophilia his entire life. He remembers being eight years old—nervous, away from home for the first time—when he first stepped into the Bayer Den. “I can remember going to the Bayer Den and just feeling the weight lift,” he recalls. “It wasn’t just a building. It was a safe space. I felt like I was home.”

Hemophilia is a bleeding disorder that requires constant vigilance and medical care, especially for children. At camp, where scraped knees and mosquito bites are part of the territory, safety is more than a priority—it’s a lifeline. The Bayer Den, built in partnership with Hemophilia Ontario, ensures that kids with bleeding disorders don’t have to miss out on the joys of camp. Instead, they get to experience it all—canoeing, campfires, friendships—while learning to manage their condition independently and confidently.

The building itself is staffed by volunteer nurses and equipped for campers to self-infuse their medication in a clean, supervised, and encouraging environment. It's here, Jordan says, that he first saw older campers administering their own treatments. “It was the first time I thought, ‘I want to be like that.’” It sparked a desire not just to participate, but to lead.

Jordan would go on to spend ten years as a camper before joining staff, mentoring younger campers, and eventually returning as a volunteer. He’s watched dozens of kids walk into the Bayer Den with the same mixture of fear and hope he once carried—and he’s seen the transformation. “The Bayer Den promotes knowledge and confidence. It creates role models. It gives kids a place where they can feel proud of who they are.”

Over a two-week period, the Bayer Den supported 50-60 campers and logged over 100 infusions—a testament to the critical role it plays; and thanks to a recent renovation funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation, the space is more welcoming and accessible than ever.

This National AccessAbility Week, we celebrate places like the Bayer Den—places that open doors, minds, and hearts. For Jordan, it’s simple: “Without the Bayer Den, I don’t think I’d be the man I am today.”

He says it with quiet pride, the kind that comes from knowing you’ve not only overcome something—but grown through it. Now, like the building that helped shape him, Jordan gives back, ready to offer the next scared eight-year-old a hand, a smile, and the assurance: “You’re home.”

#ShineOn #IgnitePotential #NationalAccessAbilityWeek #TheYSavesLives