Personal Narrative: Camp Tiger Paw

Last summer I volunteered to be a camp counselor at a camp in Blowing Rock, North Carolina called Camp Sonshine. This camp is different from others in that they bring children ages 5 to 18 from inner city Memphis, Tennessee to the Appalachian Mountains. This

Everyone has their own set of strengths and weaknesses. Those with disabilities are no different they just have a different set then everyone else. I chose this project topic because in 5th and 6th grade I was part of a program called Peer Pals. Once a week during recess I volunteered in a special needs classroom. This work opened my eyes to the world of special needs and Peer Pals is one of the things I miss about elementary school. I realized that I needed to continue helping the special needs community. No solutions presented themselves and then one day the solution stared me in the face from it’s home in the Reston Community Center Program Guide. “Volunteer at the Adapted Aquatics Class,” I had found a solution to my problem.

In ninth grade, my mother suggested that I volunteer with peers at my high school who are special needs. She thought it would be good for me to meet other people my age who have their unique struggles in school, much like myself. I protested originally, but little did I know I would love volunteering with my peers, regardless of their disability. During this time, I signed up to volunteer with a local organization called Buddy Ball. At Buddy Ball, I had the opportunity to teach children with disabilities ages five through twenty-one baseball. When I volunteered with my peers, I mainly saw high schoolers with severe autism, intellectual disabilities, and emotional disturbances, whereas with Buddy Ball most of the participants had severe autism, intellectual disability, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, epilepsy, or a multiple of disabilities. Both of these experiences allowed me to gain knowledge of a variety of special

For two years I worked as a camp counselor for the Western DuPage Special Recreation Association (WDSRA). In this time, I have worked day camps, inclusion camps, social program,s and even an overnight camp for children, teens, and adults with special needs. My responsibilities were to plan crafts and activities that were inclusive to the various needs and abilities of the campers. Most of all, being a camp counselor meant creating a safe and fun environment for each

After her time at the habilitation program, she moved to Colorado. Her first job in Colorado was at the Rise School of Denver, which “provides services to children with and without disabilities through an inclusive education model.” During her time at the Rise School, the executive director of Adams Camp reached out to her and provided a job description that immediately captured her interest. She rapidly transitioned into the Adams Camp environment and found her home. Jordan has the opportunity to serve 350 families every year in both Adventure Camp and other therapeutic programs that is offered by Adams Camp. But, it hasn’t all been an easy road for her at Adams Camp. She voiced, “With an aging population, we are tasked with creating age appropriate services for all. The other challenge is finding more empowering opportunities for our population.” Most people with developmental disabilities can live a long and fulfilled life, but their special needs vary by age. At the moment, Adams Camp prioritizes younger clients in order to prepare them properly for their futures. But because Jordan is so dedicated to improving the lives’ of others, she

As a child, I remember accompanying my mom to various Adams Camp events. I never truly knew what Adams Camp was until my middle school years. Adams Camp is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing various therapeutic programs for children and families with special needs, as well as hosting recreational programs for fun, social connections, and growth in independence. Adams Camp was founded by one of my mom’s friends, Carol Horney. Carol’s son was diagnosed with cerebral palsy and hadn’t taken a step until he turned 5 years old, but only after a week of intensive therapy. Carol believed in supporting others like Adam, and eventually organized the first Adventure Camp a year later. To this day, I know Adam particularly well. Yes he has his funny quirks, but now he is a fully-functioning adult. He has devoted his life to helping others like him, as he holds a job with Developmental Pathways, a company that sustains fundraising for Adams Camp.

When I was nine, I went away to sleepaway camp in Maine for the first time. Camp Winnebago would be my home for seven and a half weeks, and I was only going to see my parents for one day in the middle for Visiting Day. As excited as I was for camp, I was really, really nervous to leave home for the first time for that long.

They taught me that challenges may hinder your ability to do things, but it can never steal your joy. During my time at Camp Courageous I got to work with lily, a 12 year old girl who was non-verbal and only able to walk for a limited amount of time. Nonetheless, lily managed to find joy out of a simple sneeze. Despite the obstacles she faced, when someone sneezed she would burst into contagious laughter. Sometimes I would act out the most dramatic sneezes just to make her smile. Working at camp courageous was my best experience during my time in the program. Altogether, I have so many life changing stories to share and lifelong lessons to apply through this adventure we call life.

When I was first awoken before 8:00 a.m on a Monday morning in July, it is not hard to imagine how unamused I was. My mom had signed me up to volunteer for two weeks at the Munroe Meyer Institute at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Their summer camp for kids with special needs ages three and a half through twenty-one had become my home for the next week. This camp provides an summer camp experience for kids who would not otherwise have one. The campers are divided into groups with staff and volunteers as well. A volunteer at Camp Monroe has a new buddy every day they help their buddy with tasks, offer encouragement, and give simple direction when needed. The activities for the campers include: swimming, cooking, sports, creative

Every person has had a time in their life that changed their perspective on the way he or she lives or that changed their way of thinking, but there are not many people that have had a time in their life that changed who he or she is. There are only so many things that can change a person. One of the only things that can change a person is Camp Lambec. Camp Lambec sits peacefully on the beach of Lake Erie. It has cabins everywhere by number and a veil that splits it in half. There is a trail that goes all the way around it and a chapel that has brought joy to thousands of people. In other words, it’s the greatest place on Earth. Anyone who has gone there comes back as a new person and for me the week I spent there this year changed who I

While society has molded me to depict them as helpless, shunned, and inferior, people with special needs have no lesser value than I in the eyes of God. While I fall short with greed, faith, and malice, this group of seventy-two campers showed me that they excel where I fall short. They showed me how to be as generous with my time and attention as they are, to abide in the Lord, and to reflect their genuine kindness that caused my heart to swell. Without meaning to, God showed me how I am to treat all of my brothers and sisters in Christ with radiance of love and kindness that

After a few days of setting the program up, I was finally ready to test it out. It was a flop. I forgot to account that most of the people’s disabilities prevented them from kicking or passing the ball or that I was unexperienced with the disabled people. None of the campers would listen to me, they looked bored and uninterested. I didn’t know them. I didn’t know what each of their conditions were or how it affected them. I didn’t know what to do. I was stuck and didn’t want to be

As a kid, Arizona camp Sunrise and Sidekicks played a very important part of my life and it still does today. This is where I went to escape from the hard times of my little brother having cancer. It gave me the chance to express my feelings and the events happening to people who have or were going through the same thing as me. The camp is a week long every year in the month of July. I attended camp every year for 8 years as a camper. This camp gives kids the break they need and the fun they deserve by having jello wars, a formal dinner and dance, lake day, hiking, fishing, movie night, and alot more activities. Most of the children that attend this camp don’t get to have this kind of fun because of the fact that a sibling of theirs has cancer

It was not until this past summer, I signed up to be a counselor at Camp Fatima. Counselors are people who are assigned a camper, who is mentally and physically disabled and they must watch, care, and do activities with him or her for six days. As I am the youngest in my family and often let others make decisions for me, I volunteered thinking that it would not be difficult. Ultimately, I realized that it was the hardest and most challenging experience I ever had to face.

It was a very stormy day on my grandpa's farm. The sky was filled with dark ominous clouds reaching out to wreak havoc my day. I had to go milk the cow but when I got to the field she was not there. So I went to look for her. That is when I saw the footprints.