Published: June 20, 2008 01:28 am      

SERVICES: Camp Kenan experience a hit with special needs youth

BARKER — A couple of campers grabbed their new friend by his hands, one each, and pulled him toward the cabin anxiously. Some impromptu rock climbing was about to start and they didn’t want to miss it.

About a dozen young campers streamed into the cabin near the Camp Kenan mess hall Thursday morning, gathering on cushions and gabbing excitedly as three boys suited up to tackle the rock-climbing wall.

Jonathan Kneer, 14, of Grand Island, went first. About halfway up the 15-foot wall, he stopped, clutched the climbing rings tightly and briefly debated whether to let go or keep hoisting. The moment passed and up he went, lifted by the cheering crowd behind him.

Next up was Adam Mickiewicz, a gregarious 16-year-old from Wheatfield who’d been first to say “yeah!” when campers were asked who wanted to give the wall another whirl.

Mickiewicz made his way up the wall quickly, as though he was well-practiced at it, and when the crowd cheered his rise to the top, he let go of the ring in his right hand. Holding on with only his left, he turned to face the crowd, grinned and shot ’em a gleeful thumbs-up. The cheering turned thunderous.

Welcome to Camp Happiness, where 40 people with developmental disabilities have been treated to the full day-camp experience this week, many for the first time.

It’s the first camp of its kind in Niagara County and, organizers hope, far from the last.

If the smoothness of the joint effort by Opportunities Unlimited of Niagara, Lockport Family YMCA and Lockport Elks Lodge 41 is any indication, they — and a bunch of Happiness campers — should get their wish.

“The cooperation among these groups has been outstanding. The Y staff really adapted to meet our consumers’ needs,” said Roxane Albond-Butler, OUN communications manager. “Every one of these campers is having a great time.”

“By the time they got dropped off (from camp) Wednesday, a lot of them were asking, ‘Are we going to do this again next year?’” Elks Lodge 41 member Fred Kanehl said.

Camp Happiness is the product of the lodge’s successful pursuit of a $10,000 grant from the Elks National Foundation last year. It won the money by pitching a plan to deliver a novel community service — day camp for special-needs people — with help from community experts.

YMCA contributed the camp facilities and staff; OUN supplied the special needs counselors and staff training; and the Elks grant paid for campers’ entry fees, food and transportation to and from the lakeside camp. Several dozen lodge members and friends signed on as camp volunteers.

Together they’re filling a local need that many people didn’t realize existed.

“When you say ‘developmentally disabled,’ people do not think of camping as something (they) need,” said Jim Bronstein, OUN’s director of day clinical and supportive services.

“The average person has no idea how much these folks are capable of, so I guess it’s easy to overlook this stuff,” said Elks camp volunteer Jane Draper, grandmother of a special-needs teen-ager who’s taking Regents exams this week. “There couldn’t be enough of these program. It’s fabulous. You can see the absolute joy in their faces.”

Since Monday, Happiness campers have been doing all the usual things day-trippers do at Camp Kenan: playing soccer, volleyball and basketball, taking part in arts/crafts and singalongs, hiking and roasting marshmallows over a campfire.

The pool remains too cold to swim in, and the lake’s a bit too choppy to try canoeing, but otherwise, this week’s unpredictable weather did not affect the camp program, according to Bronstein.

“It seems like the weather system revolved around us. We’ve had nothing but sunshine here,” he said.

Campers range in age from 14 to 54; each day, they’ve been separated into six groups, by age and ability level, to try out different camp activities.

When groups came together for a 30-minute “free” recreation period Thursday, some shot hoops, while others made chalk art in the middle of the court. A few just walked, or wheeled their wheelchairs around, watching the activity and striking up conversation with anyone who didn’t look busy.

Amanda Schumacher, 19, of Lockport, said the best part of her camp experience has been making a new good friend, Sabrina Schuster, 16, also of Lockport. Amanda is one of the few campers who’s not also an OUN client, and staff were somewhat concerned she’d feel like the odd one out. They need not have worried.

“I made a friend like her,” Amanda said, pointing to Sabrina. “it’s fun here. It’s something to do. If you have stress, it’s very relaxing.”

Sabrina ticked off a whole list of her “favorite” camp activities including playing soccer and basketball, custom-making a blue visor that she plans to wear this summer and having lunch at the mess hall. Camp Kenan puts together an excellent salad bar, she says approvingly.

“I would come here again next year. And bring a friend with me,” she said.

Elks volunteers describe their week at camp as eye-opening. Some beliefs about what special-needs people “can” and “can’t” do — or should/shouldn’t try to do — were changed.

“I see a lot of people having a lot of fun with things they’ve probably never done before, and trying really hard,” Lodge 41 member George Kugler said. “You can see the improvement. At the beginning of the week they were kind of reserved. Now they’re out here playing (sports) like they mean it. ... I’ve learned some things here that I will take back to my ‘normal’ life with me.”

“These kids can do a lot more than I think we give them credit for,” Elk Fred Kanehl said. “It’d be nice if this would just go forever.”

Creating an encore Camp Happiness will take some work, Kanehl said. The lodge will apply for another Elks Foundation grant to fund a 2009 program, but the foundation won’t award any more than three consecutive grants. The club is seeking sponsorships from community groups, foundations and businesses to help the camp expand and endure.

Anyone who’s interested in finding out more about sponsorships can contact Elks Treasurer John Zieziula at 434-2798 or write to him at Lockport Elks, P.O. Box 395, Lockport, NY 14095.

More information about Camp Happiness can be found online at www.camphappiness.org.