Camp ASCCA Blog

This week we are joined by the Hope Heals Camp, formerly known as Rooftop Friends Alabama Family Retreat. According to hopehealscamp.org, the mission of the camp is to create “a week-long experience in Alabama for individuals and families with disabilities that marks the beginning of a lasting community grown from the disabilities in us all.” The camp received its name change after Katherine and Jay Wolf visited the Rooftop Friends Retreat to share their story of overcoming unexpected obstacles and living with hope. The couple was inspired by the people at their camp and felt as though “these were our people.” They soon combined forces with Rooftop Friends and renamed the week to Hope Heals Camp.

On Monday, Camp representatives were invited to attend the meeting of the Phenix City Rotary Club and give a presentation on the programs we offer and the people we serve. Social Media Specialist Kasey Langley and PR Intern Jasmine Reed made the trip to Phenix City and were welcomed by many smiling Rotary members who were excited to hear about all of the new happenings at Camp.

The Alabama Elks Association has played an integral part in the expansion of Camp ASCCA over the years. Since 2010, the AEA has given generously to a variety of projects like major building renovations, camper weekends, and much more. This year, on June 3, 2017, Camp Administrator John Stephenson and Director of Marketing and Communications Dana Rickman attended the Alabama Elks Association Convention at the Marriot Hotel in Huntsville, Alabama.

Philanthropy 101 is a summer program at The Montgomery Academy where selected seniors are challenged and taught how their own abilities can make a difference in their community. The course was created by The Montgomery Academy and the W. James Samford, Jr. Foundation. The president of the W. James Samford, Jr. Foundation and sister of James Samford, Jr., Lucinda Cannon, has been a benefactor for Philanthropy 101 for several years and has also supported Camp outside of the Montgomery Academy program. This year, the program was also supported by Mr. and Mrs. E. Temple Millsap III, Mr. and Mrs. Barrie Harmon, and The Montgomery Academy.

Our Aquatics Program Staff spotlights wrap up with Lifeguard, Sam Stephenson. For those of you who don’t know Sam’s unique story with Camp, he’s lived here all his life. That’s right! He gets to have the best summer of his life, all year round.

Another familiar face to the ASCCA family and first timer on our Aquatics Program Staff, is Lifeguard Brett Gray. Brett is from Montevallo, Alabama and this is his fifth summer with us. He originally started off as a volunteer during MDA (Muscular Dystrophy Association) week. Then, he came back as a counselor and eventually moved on to be a part of the Adventure Program Staff.

Our next spotlight for this week’s Meet the Program Staff series is Lifeguard, Gwin Walker. Some of you may recognize her from a video we did earlier this summer, covering what it’s like being on program staff. Today, we’re diving a little deeper to find out what exactly Gwin does. This is her first summer being on the Aquatics Staff, but she’s had the pleasure of working on Program Staff before.

Continuing with our Aquatics Program Staff highlights this week, meet Lifeguard Matthew Segrest. Matthew is from Tallassee, Alabama and this is his second summer with Camp ASCCA! Three years ago, Matthew served as a Camp Counselor and is now amidst his first summer on Program Staff.

As we continue our “Meet the Program Staff” series, we move on to the Aquatics Program. Meet Lifeguard and Intern, Megan Sanner. Megan is from Florence, Alabama and this is her first summer at Camp…kind of!

To wrap up this week’s Meet the Program Staff series, we end with Horseback Riding Director Isabel Pickett. Isabel is from Hoover, Alabama and this is her first summer with Camp ASCCA! “I’m really enjoying it so far, it’s been a lot of fun,” she said. “I’ve gotten to know a lot of new people and I’m really looking forward to a great summer.”

Meet Leah Tingle, our 2017 Shooting Sports Director. Similar to most of the people on our 2017 Program Staff, Leah served as a Camp Counselor last year, but this year she was interested to see what Program Staff life was like. “When you’re a counselor, all you have to do is wake up and get yourself ready along with your campers and go, and all the programs are ready, ” she said. “I didn’t realize how much background it took to get camp set up…I don’t think people realize how much work we do behind the scenes.”

At about 6:30 every mornig, Leah wakes up, gets dressed and heads to the farm for morning clean up with the rest of the Farm Staff.

Though there’s alot of work that goes into being on Program Staff, it’s nothing like seeing the smiles on campers’ faces as they participate in the different activites. We always aim to ensure every camper has the best summer of their life and we have amazing Program Staff members like Leah, who help us do just that.

We continue with the rest of our “Meet the Program Staff” spotlights with our Demo Farm Director Briana Rock. Briana is a native of Birmingham, Alabama but currently resides in Auburn. This is Briana’s first summer to serve on Program Staff, but like most of our staff this summer, she’s worked as a camp counselor in the past.