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By Jessica Rush
"Dear Mom and Dad, I’m having a great time
at camp," writes twelve-year-old Michael. "Today, I rode a horse
for the first time. I thought it would be scary, but it was loads of fun.
Tonight I’m going to the camp dance and in the morning we’ll
be fishing at the lake. The food is good here, too . . . ."
During the summer camp season, parents across the nation
receive many wonderful reports like this one from their happy campers.
Yet, there is one thing that makes this account particularly special —
it comes from a child with a disability who normally spends the majority
of his day in a wheelchair.
Unfortunately, far too many children — and adults
— have special challenges that hinder their ability to experience
the joys of nature and camp. But, thanks to Camp For All in Burton, Texas,
thousands of individuals from Southeast Texas with special needs do attend
camp each year — one that is designed especially for them.
A Dream Come True
Camp For All began in 1993, as the dream of Houston
physicians, Paul Gerson, M.D., Robert Zeller, M.D., and Larry Neuhaus,
a Houston business leader who lost his young son to cancer. Their vision
was to create a special place that would embrace those, who because of
their illness or disability, had limited opportunity to experience the
thrill of camp. Over the next two years, the trio worked diligently on
their idea, enlisting support for the project and recruiting a team that
would help turn their dream into reality.
As word spread about the possibility of an accessible
camp being built near Houston, excitement and enthusiasm for the concept
grew among the area’s health-care community. Although many health
organizations already were providing camp programs for their special needs
groups, all were in agreement that the traditional camps they attended,
could not — or would not — adequately accommodate their members.
In 1993, with the help of many dedicated and talented
people from nearly twenty health organizations — and with overwhelming
support from Houston’s medical community, business leaders, and
citizens — the Camp For All Foundation was established. The Board
of Directors, planning board, and a small staff began laying the groundwork
necessary to build the camp. Together, they tackled hundreds of issues,
all the while making campers’ needs their top priority. Through
countless hours of research, consultation, and discussion, the team made
decisions on everything from safety, medical supervision, programming,
and staffing — to the height and width of furniture, doorways, sidewalks,
cabins, and restrooms.
In 1995, after months of searching for the perfect location
for the camp, the team selected a beautiful 206-acre site, eighty-five
miles northwest of Houston, in Washington County, Texas. With its gently
rolling hills, the site has a perfect mix of wooded areas — perfect
for taking long nature walks — as well as open spaces to accommodate
the camp’s buildings, cabins, and activity areas.
Anne Swisher of the Muscular Dystrophy Association and
a member of the camp’s original planning team, remembers, "We
partnered in building something that would be good for all. A lot of time
was spent looking at other camp models, discussing concepts, and determining
what was important. We had many spirited discussions because we knew that
this had to be a place that everybody could use."
Serving the Special Needs Community
Camp For All welcomed its first groups in the summer
of 1998 and has since earned a reputation for being a premier camp and
retreat facility serving the special needs community. An accredited member
of the American Camping Association, Camp For All hosts more than 5,000
campers and volunteers annually from some forty special needs organizations
— providing fun, challenging, and therapeutic programs in a barrier-free
and fully-accessible environment.
With week-long camp sessions during the summer, and
day and weekend camp programs and retreats in the spring and fall, Camp
For All serves groups challenged by conditions ranging from epilepsy,
muscular dystrophy and cancer to asthma, burns, and spinal cord injuries.
The camp thrives on the unique partnership it maintains with its user
organizations. While Camp For All provides the facilities, leadership,
and specially-trained staff to administer its programs, the user groups
who attend bring their own knowledgeable leaders, medical team, and volunteers
who also play major roles in the success of their group’s visit.
Each year, a host of physicians, nurses, and other medical professionals,
college students, family members, and people from all walks of life volunteer
their services by assisting special needs groups at camp.
Houston physicians, Carlos Rivera, M.D., a pediatric
neurologist, and his wife, Jayne Finkowski-Rivera, M.D., a neonatologist,
attend camp as volunteers each year with a group of young cancer patients
and their siblings from Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston. The
couple has seen first-hand the positive difference the experience can
have on patients and their families.
"The independence the kids gain and the sheer happiness
they get from participating in the activities stays with them even after
they leave camp," says Dr. Rivera. "For a person with special
needs, something as simple as paddling a canoe or riding a horse can be
a life-changing experience. Helping to provide that experience for our
group is one of the most rewarding things we’ve ever done."
Programs and Activities for All
Programs and activities at Camp For All are tailored to meet the varying
physical skill levels, mental capabilities, mobility requirements, and
age and interest differences of each camper. Programs include aquatics,
archery, canoeing, biking, team sports, a ROPES challenge course, horseback
riding, arts and crafts, fishing, and much more. Specialized equipment
enables maximum participation in all activities.
The camp site features more than 100,000 square feet
of facilities, two stocked lakes, two miles of nature trails, several
aviaries, and even a huge, wheelchair-accessible tree house capable of
accommodating up to twelve campers. The tree house is a favorite gathering
spot for informal meetings, relaxing visits with friends, and star gazing
at night.
The Camp For All Ranch includes a new, state-of-the-art
equestrian center and a small animal farm. The equestrian program provides
recreational, educational, and therapeutic benefits for people of all
abilities by encouraging them to mount, ride, and care for horses —
thus promoting independence, self-esteem, and improved physical ability.
The small animal farm allows campers to enjoy a variety of animals, including
miniature goats, donkeys, chickens, turkeys, rabbits, and ducks. The area
will soon include a hatchery, a beehive observatory, and a working windmill.
Gently sloping concrete walkways link all the facilities at the camp and
maximize mobility for those in wheelchairs.
"Camp For All just keeps getting better and better,"
says Vicki LaRue, president and CEO. "We’re continually adding
new programs and enhancing our facilities so that we can provide the best
possible experience for our guests. For most of these campers, their visit
to Camp For All is the highlight of their summer, and, often, it’s
the highlight of their year."
Making a Difference
Erica Jones, a twenty-three-year-old volunteer counselor agrees. Erica
has spina bifida, but she is a seasoned camper who has been attending
camp for years and has always enjoyed the freedom she and the others in
her group experience there.
"While we’re there, we’re just like
everyone else," she says. "It doesn’t matter to anyone
that we’re in wheelchairs. We can swim, play baseball, and do all
sorts of things we normally wouldn’t be able to do."
Mandy Peoples, a member of Camp For All’s program
staff, recalls, "When I drove through Camp For All’s gates
nearly six years ago, I had no idea the impact that this place would have
on my life. Selfishly, I thought I was coming to change other people’s
lives. While I do hope that has happened over the years, I can’t
imagine that I’ve touched these young people half as much as they’ve
touched me."
Peoples has many memories of special campers and credits
each of them with helping her learn important life lessons that will remain
with her forever. "When I glance into a mirror and don’t like
the way I look, I remember Davey, a five-year-old who was so severely
burned that he had no nose, no ears, and only stubs for fingers. Davey
did nothing but laugh during his entire time at camp. The fire couldn’t
touch his heart," she says.
Peoples also recalls other campers, like Genya, a young
man who had no legs from the thigh down, and whose amazing spirit and
determination still inspire her. "After completing the ROPES challenge
course one day, Genya decided the terrain was too rough to ride his wheelchair
back to the lodge," says Mandy. "Instead he pushed the chair
the entire way, walking behind it on the two stubs he has for legs. Rather
than complaining, he was boasting about how awesome his ROPES experience
was."
The Challenge of Funding
The Camp For All Board and staff work tirelessly to
ensure that the camp continues to provide its unique services for many
years to come. As a nonprofit organization that does not rely on government
or United Way funding, financial support for Camp For All is provided
through generous gifts from individuals, foundations, and corporations.
The camp’s annual operating budget is $1.9 million. Fees paid by
the organizations that sponsor camp groups cover half of all costs. Camp
For All must raise the remaining funds required to provide campers with
customized activities. These costs include training for program staff,
maintenance of the facilities, and purchase of special equipment and materials.
"When one considers furnishing financial or volunteer
support to any organization, one examines the need, the results or benefits
being delivered, and the effectiveness of the delivery system," says
James Gustafson of Camp For All’s Dream Makers Society, a philanthropic
group whose members pledge annual support to the camp. "Camp For
All meets all three tests with very high marks, and I feel fortunate that
my wife and I are able to help. We have confidence in the stewardship
that the Camp For All team exhibits."
Future Possibilities
Camp For All’s phenomenal success speaks to the
great need for meaningful and accessible recreational programs for those
with special needs. In fact, the organization finds it increasingly difficult
to accommodate the large number of groups that want to attend. Currently,
the camp’s board of directors is considering new ways to meet the
large demand for services. Possibilities being considered include expanding
the original camp site, developing a second camp site nearby, and marketing
the Camp For All model to nonprofit organizations interested in building
similar facilities in other areas.
"The most striking thing about Camp For All is
the powerful impact a single week at camp can have on a person’s
outlook and outcome," says Rock Houstoun, a Camp For All’s
board member. "It would be a wonderful thing to one day be able to
offer this experience to every chronically ill or disabled person, not
just in Texas, but across the country. That’s my dream."
Originally published in the 2004 January/February
issue of Camping Magazine.
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