Hello readers! Happy late Valentines! As you may already know, earlier this month Camp ASCCA celebrated Camp ASCCA Spirit and Recruitment Day! So, I’ve decided to dedicate this post to celebrating and sharing my memories of Camp – the happiest place on earth.
On Tuesday, members from the Cahaba Valley Elks Lodge traveled to Camp to make a donation to the camp kitchen. The item donated was a 20-tier shelving rack, and they even took the time to assemble it and mark it with a special plaque. The need for a shelving rack was discovered when Elks member Barbara Shinpaugh volunteered during camp one day last summer.
Over the weekend, Camp was visited by Pi Kappa Phi members from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the Georgia Institute of Technology, and Boise as a part of the fraternity’s Ability Experience. The Ability Experience, formerly known as Push America, is a nonprofit organization serving people with disabilities around the country. The organization’s first visit to Camp ASCCA came in 1993, and they have returned every year since. The men in attendance each year volunteer and help with new projects across the campus.
Hello everyone! My name is Jamaica, and I am excited to be your next guest blogger! I have Cerebral Palsy (CP); Cerebral Palsy is a neurological condition that affects the brain and body in a multitude of ways. I am affected by Cerebral Palsy in all of my limbs, and one of my biggest challenges in having CP is that my body kind of has a mind of its own sometimes. It is difficult for me to control movement in my body, and I have a difficult time with fine and gross motor skills. I also have a lot of muscle spasms everyday but aside from the challenges of having CP, I make the most of life!
Every year during the winter season, the Lakeshore Foundation brings a couple groups to Camp ASCCA for a weekend of hunting. This year’s groups visited during the last two weekends of January and were split into an adult session and a child session. Family members and friends often travel with each participant, and this year’s groups got pretty lucky out in the fields.
There is no love like the love of Camp ASCCA! As we get closer to Summer 2018, we are getting more and more excited to reunite with all of our camp friends, old and new. We have big plans for this summer, and cannot wait to share a few surprises with everyone.
My name is Brandon. I’m 22, and I’ll be 23 on January 23. I’m a sophomore at Miles College. I was born with a muscular disease called SMA ( Spinal Muscle Atrophy), and when I was born the doctor told my mom after I was diagnosed with my disease that she would only see me for the maximum of 2 years. Later down the road, I had a severe surgery to keep my spine in place. I was about 10 when this surgery happened. About 3 years later, my lungs collapsed, I flatlined at the hospital once in ICU, but only for a brief second.
This week, Amber Cotney and I traveled to Mobile for one of our first ASCCA on the Road adventures of 2018. Our first stop on Monday was at the University of South Alabama to visit two therapeutic recreations classes as a part of our staff recruitment efforts. We spent time with each class breaking down who we are as an organization and what it means to be a staff member and work with the campers who visit each summer.
My name is Jonathan VanSteenburg, and I have cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy affects all my muscles and my speech. I am a wheelchair user. I have been going to Camp ASCCA since 2006. Camp ASCCA is in a small town called Jackson Gap, AL (located on the beautiful Lake Martin). All of their staff are caring and loving. During the summer, Camp ASCCA has week-long sessions where people with disabilities can do fun things that they don’t normally do at home.
Each year, we have many individuals and families make donations to Camp ASCCA because they believe in what we do and want us to be able to continue serving people with disabilities every summer. On other occasions, we even have businesses offer support through annual giving. One specific business, Alliance Communications Management, has continued to give to Camp ASCCA since 2008 through monthly giving.
Hello readers, welcome to Camp ASCCA’s Guest Blog! My name is McCartney, and I’m hoping to be a regular guest blogger here! In my posts, my goal is to help people better understand disabilities and the people who are affected by them. I can’t speak for everyone with a disability, but I can at least try my best to help people on the outside understand people like myself.
On Friday afternoon, campers and staff arrived for a festive ASCCA Christmas weekend on the banks of Lake Martin at Camp ASCCA. The weekend was set out to be a cold one, and it was certainly that. Once all campers – returning and new – had checked in, everyone came together in the dining hall for dinner followed by a special Christmas activity in the gym. As everyone gathered together for the first event of the weekend, hot chocolate and treats were distributed to every cabin group.
Located in Alabama on Lake Martin, Camp ASCCA offers campers a wide variety of traditional recreational and educational activities with a unique design for accessibility.
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