As a freshman at Waltham High School, Matthew Buono is like most productive students. He is a competitive athlete, show choir performer and on his way toward becoming an Eagle Scout, Scouting's highest honor.
But Buono, 15, constantly deals with what his father calls a "nagging" disease - Type I Diabetes.
Diagnosed at age 12, Buono has learned to deal with the daily blood sugar checks and insulin pumps. He has managed to hold on to his competitive edge in swimming and started this year on the high school's track and field teams.
"I don't try and let it interfere with many other things," said Buono. "I just act as if I don't have it and take care of it as if I do."
More importantly, Buono has reaped the physical and psychological benefits from spending his summers at a camp specially programmed to meet the needs of diabetic children.
This year, in a hope to bring that experience to those who otherwise might not afford the two-week stay at Camp Carefree, an American Diabetes Association summer program in New Hampshire, Buono has organized a swim-a-thon at the Boys & Girls Club on Exchange Street.
With the help of more than a dozen fellow swimmers, Buono is collecting both flat-rate donations and pledges for each lap swam this Saturday.
Each year when his son returns home from Camp Carefree, Jim Buono said it is like he receives "an injection of zest."
The summer camp, which provides the typically outdoor excursions found at any overnight camp, also offers campers educational materials and food choices that are compatible with their disease.
"He gets to be with other people who are struggling with the same issues. Sometimes it hard when you're by yourself. At camp, everyone knows (you have diabetes) and it's a lot more comfortable environment," said his mother, Lorri Buono.
Next year, her son plans on becoming a counselor-in-training, she said.
On Saturday afternoon, the Boys & Girls Club has donated the use of the five-lane pool to Buono and his team of swimmers.
"When Matthew first approached me, it was a no-brainer," said the club's Program Director Mario Pena, adding that Buono regularly volunteers his time and assistance at the organization.
"Matthew's always extending his hand and this project goes to show that," said Pena. "It's just amazing ... to see someone of his age doing an event like this."
Competing year-round with the club and during winter at the high school, Buono swims the 100-yard butterfly and 200-yard individual medley.
"He's one of the best swimmers we got," said Pena, who added that Buono was recently awarded Swimmer of the Year at the club.
Buono said he decided to raise money for camper scholarships after looking for sponsors to cover his own camp costs. With one large donation nearly covering the cost of his camp fees, Buono said he continued looking for support, recalling conversations with fellow campers who knew others that wanted to attend Camp Carefree but couldn't afford the cost.
He hopes to raise enough money to sponsor two campers, which is roughly $2,000, he said.
To date, he has raised just over $1,000 to give to the camp to be used for scholarships and he still has to collect other swimmers' pledges and tally donations after Saturday's event.
All proceeds raised Saturday will be donated directly to the camp.
"I thought it was going to be successful, but I didn't think it was going to be this successful," said Buono. As he entered the collected donations into a spreadsheet and watched the amount multiply.
"It was spectacular," he said.
As a competitive swimmer, Buono said he is planning on swimming for two 30-minute intervals. He expects to complete a total of 60 laps at 50 yards each.
His mother, Lorri Buono, said, "When we say he had diabetes, the first thin that comes to (people's) mind is, 'He's so thin. He's so healthy."'
More often than not, Lorri Buono said people associate diabetes with lifestyle choices. However, many of those suffering, including her son, are inflicted with the hereditary form of diabetes.
According to the statistics he's seen, Buono said 21 million people have some form of diabetes in the United States.
"I just don't see a lot of people donating to this cause. I'd just love to see a lot of people care about diabetes," said Buono.
For more information about Saturday's swim-a-thon or to make a donation, pick up a pledge sheet at the Waltham Boys & Girls Club, 20 Exchange St.
Kerri Roche can be reached at kroche@cnc.com or 781-398-8009.
