May 25, 2006

Openings remain for Camp Little Giant

by Pete Rosenbery

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- A residential summer camp for youngsters and adults with disabilities has a few remaining openings.

Southern Illinois University Carbondale's Touch of Nature Environmental Center hosts Camp Little Giant. The center, a wooded area on the shores of Little Grassy Lake, is about seven miles south of Carbondale.

SIUC prides itself on its expertise and experience in providing therapeutic recreation to special populations. The residential camp is co-educational. The camp has been providing continuous summer camping programs since 1952, and was the nation's first university-affiliated residential camping programs for people with disabilities.

Campers' activities include swimming, fishing, paddleboats, horseback riding, talent shows, hayrides, carnivals and nature hikes. Males and females bunk in separate, rustic cabins overseen by adult counselors and gather for meals in the dining hall. Six to eight campers are in each cabin with a minimum of two counselors in each cabin.

The camping programs open June 12 and run through July 28, with camps running one or two weeks.

Some campers may qualify for financial assistance.

A list of camp sessions and the special populations for which they are designed:

 

  • June 11-16 – Camp Olympia I: For adults 21 and over with high care needs, low mobility or using wheelchairs.
  • June 11-23 – Camp Olympia II: For adults 21 and over with high care needs, low mobility or using wheelchairs.
  • June 18-23 – Camp Olympia III: For children 8 and older, and young adults, with high care needs, low mobility or using wheelchairs.
  • June 25-30 – Camp Traditions I: For adults 21 and over with physical or developmental disabilities.
  • June 25-July 7 – Camp Traditions II: For adults 21 and over with physical or developmental disabilities.
  • July 2-7 – Camp Traditions III: For adults 21 and over with physical or developmental disabilities.
  • July 9-14 – Camp Shawnee I: For youths ages 8-21 with physical or developmental disabilities.
  • July 9-21 – Camp Shawnee II: For youths ages 8-21 with physical or developmental disabilities.
  • July 16-21 – Camp Shawnee III: For youths ages 8-21 with physical or developmental disabilities.
  • July 23-28 -- Dyna Camp: For youths ages 8-12 with Attention Deficit Disorder; Attention Deficit, Hyperactive Disorder; or other behavioral concerns.

Camps costs are: For campers needing one-on-one assistance, six-day sessions are $840 and 12-day sessions are $1,755; campers who require less care and supervision pay $450 for six-day sessions and $975 for 12-day sessions.

In addition to openings for campers, anyone interested in volunteering or working as a camp counselor may contact camp Director Vicki Lang. Camp counselors must be at least 16 years old, and they receive free room and board as well as their salaries.

For camp or counselor applications and camper scholarship applications call Camp Little Giant, Touch of Nature Environmental Center, SIUC, at 618/453-1121, and ask for Lang at extension 231. Additional information and downloadable applications are available at http://www.pso.siu.edu/tonec/therarec/clg/index.php.

In addition, an event that benefits Camp Little Giant, the Big Hands for Little Giants Motorcycle & Specialty Car Show, runs June 2-4 at Illinois Centre Mall in Marion. Activities include bands, helicopter rides, a poker run and an auction, among other events.

Serving others is among the goals of Southern at 150: Building Excellence Through Commitment, the blueprint the University is following as it approaches its 150th anniversary in 2019.