Resource Library

Brandon Briery on the Ability Experience at Camp CAMP

"What did you do last summer?" For most of you, this question conjures images of campfires, canoes, horses, swimming, and lots of energy, enthusiasm, and excitement from smiling and eager campers. If you asked most people, "What do you think a bunch of fraternity brothers did last summer?" they might tend to picture other images in their minds. Those images, however, would be very wrong for the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity brothers who are part of the group’s national philanthropy the Ability Experience.

The total was 254.

It was the last day of the fall trimester at the independent high school where I’ve been working for 20 years. Until our health center adopts electronic medical records, I’ll keep spending the final three hours of every term hand-keying into our confidential database the date, time, and referral question of each student with whom I’ve spent 45 psychotherapeutic minutes.

As children and staff members are eager to return to camp to see familiar faces and places each summer, we often hear people comment about going back to their "summer home." Our camp homes are places where friendships are made, bonds are strengthened, skills are learned, and memories are created. Some of our summer homes have lakes, mountain views, and miles of trails, while others are set in the suburbs and some even right in the middle of cities.

Most drownings are preventable. However, the cold-hard reality is that 19 percent of drowning deaths in the US involving children occur in swimming pools with certified lifeguards present — including in camps and camp-like programs (USA Management, 2018). Further, many drownings that occur at guarded facilities go unrecognized by the lifeguards, and the incidents are brought to their attention by facility patrons. The bottom line is that drowning can happen anywhere there is water.