AWB Virginia traveled to Camp Baker in Chesterfield, VA over our winter break. Camp Baker works to provide a traditional camp experience for children and adults who have disabilities. I would say our expectations were exceeded the entire week.
Every morning we worked on painting the camper's retreat. The staff told us that if we hadn't painted they would have had to hire painters to come in. It made us feel great that we could spare the camp of this expense. After we had finished we would clean up and make lunch. Then we sat down with Dr. O'Brian who gave us a short lecture each day about a different disability. The lectures were very hands on so we truly began to understand what the children affected by these disabilities go through. During one lecture Dr. O'Brian had us stick peanut butter on the roofs of our mouths and speak so we could see what it was like to have an over-sized tongue like people affected by Down's Syndrome have. The lectures added a priceless aspect of education and understanding to our trip.
Every afternoon we worked with the camp's after school program. All of the kids were affected by different disabilities and functioned on different levels so it was difficult at first figuring out exactly how to interact with them, but by the end of the week everyone agreed we got the hang of it. In fact, one day we all played kickball with the camper's and it felt just like any other camp. Working with children who have disabilities can be very intense; I give the staff at Camp Baker all the credit in the world- they are awesome with all of the campers. The staff at Camp Baker made us feel welcome as well. One of the staff members- Jarek acted as our welcoming committee/mentor the whole week.
Every afternoon we worked with the camp's after school program. All of the kids were affected by different disabilities and functioned on different levels so it was difficult at first figuring out exactly how to interact with them, but by the end of the week everyone agreed we got the hang of it. In fact, one day we all played kickball with the camper's and it felt just like any other camp. Working with children who have disabilities can be very intense; I give the staff at Camp Baker all the credit in the world- they are awesome with all of the campers. The staff at Camp Baker made us feel welcome as well. One of the staff members- Jarek acted as our welcoming committee/mentor the whole week.
One morning we took a break from painting and traveled into Richmond to tour the ARC. The ARC of Richmond is the organization that Camp Baker is based out of. The ARC works to provide occupational and speech therapy to children with developmental disabilities, it provides adult day programs and work placement for higher functioning adults. Then we met up with Jarek's friend Marley who took us on a tour of the Canal Walk and of Richmond.
On our last night at Camp Baker we helped plan and put on a "Blast from the Past" dance for the adult respite weekend group. We had a great time dancing with the adults and we even taught them how to fist pump Jersey style! I learned so much on my AWB trip to Camp Baker, not only in the educational sense, but about myself as well. This is an experience I wouldn't trade for the world and I would recommend it to anyone. As we discussed on our trip; it feels as if Camp Baker has given us so much more than we could ever give Camp Baker.
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