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Camp Smiles serves deserving population

by Hanks

The Sunday School annex of Beach Church in Myrtle Beach is filled with the bubbly laughter of children in early July at what looks and feels like a normal summer camp. From the outside looking in, no one would ever know that Camp Smiles serves disabled children.

Camp Smiles is a safe and fun specialized camp for children with autism, Down’s syndrome, cerebral palsy and other disabilities that make it difficult for them to join in on the normal summer camp scene.

John Delport, assistant professor in the Spadoni College of Education at Coastal Carolina University, worked hard since Fall 2015 to get a location secured for this summer’s four-week camp for disabled children. It is the second year the camp has been offered, yet it was more difficult to pull together than last year.

“I wanted to double the size of the camp to give more children this opportunity,” says Delport. “But we couldn’t advertise until the last minute when the location – Beach Church – was secured. This is a very deserving population that doesn’t have a lot of advocates.”

Until the week it opened on June 23, a firm location had not been secured. Though the camp had been held at the Scholars Academy on the CCU campus last year, that location was not available for four weeks this summer. Other campus locations were dismissed due to liability issues.

“Here at camp these children are treated with some humanity,” says Delport, whose own autistic son Miller attends the camp and helps mentor his peers. “These children are met with labels at school and in society that are very powerful.”

Camp Smiles started out as just a dream that was turned into a reality. Anita Howell, whose son Ryan has cerebral palsy, provided the spark that initiated the establishment of this much-needed camp for an underserved population. In 2015, Howard could not find a summer camp close enough to her to take her son, so she reached out to Jeanne Cobb, a literary professor at CCU who directs the Chanticleer Literacy Center in the Spadoni College. Cobb and her then graduate assistant, Nanci Howard, reached out to Delport to secure funding for the camp. Since that first summer, Delport and his team have come a long way and are determined to make this second summer of Camp Smiles happen for these deserving kids.

But the 16 campers, ages 8 to 19, are blissfully unaware of the administrative hassles of putting a camp of this nature together. Instead, they concentrate on the fun at hand – music therapy with two Charleston Southern University students, art therapy projects with CCU graduate student Kathleen Dorr, literacy therapy and physical movement therapy. Camp is in session with a full complement of people to help out, four days a week from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Taylor Campson and Linsey Strunga, both senior special education majors, are two of eight CCU student counselors who care for the campers and make sure they have the most fun time at camp as possible. Delport recruits all student counselors.

“We offer them activities here that that they would not get anywhere else because camps like this aren’t offered in this area, so this is really special for them,” says Strunga.

Because Camp Smiles also accommodates a number of nonverbal children, being able to read their body language is crucial.

“You can’t be shy when working with them,” says Strunga. “They will be able to sense if you’re nervous or intimidated.”
Campson gets goosebumps when she thinks about the impact these campers have left on her. “Just knowing that we helped them have a good day makes it all worthwhile,” she says. “With a lot of the nonverbal kids, just seeing them smile is the highlight of our day.”

The classes last about 45 minutes, and each sub-group of campers rotates to different classes throughout the day. In literacy therapy, the campers read, use props and puppets, and create their own stories using props. The focus is less on how well they retain information but more so on improving literacy skills and getting the kids to enjoy reading. In physical movement therapy, the campers participate in activities like bowling and playing in a ball pit that stimulate the campers and gets those who are in wheelchairs out and stretching their muscles.

“Movement therapy creates a sense of normalcy for these kids,” says Brianne Heinz, a physical education teacher at North Myrtle Beach. “It lets them feel like they are a part of something.”

According to Dorr, the art therapy projects incorporate adaptive art that allows the campers who may not have the motor skills to necessarily hold a brush or marker to participate with marker and paint airbrushes.

“There is no right or wrong way to do art, as long as they are doing what makes them happy,” she says. “Kids who don’t normally have a way to express themselves or their feelings get to express themselves through color, texture and shapes.”

In addition to Campson and Strunga, Delport is joined by Nanci Howard, a CCU education adjunct; six nondisabled peer helpers ages 7 to 17; Kim Mendez, who works with special education students in the Horry County School District; Wanda Tribble, who also works in the school district, known as the “super star” in camp because she is so experienced with helping these children; six more CCU education students who are camp counselors; and a student volunteer from New York whose cousin is in the program.

While there is more staff than there are students, Delport prefers a ratio of two kids to one adult in order to provide more individualized attention.

“During summer, there is really no day care or other summer camp that parents can take their kids to that lets them have fun while keeping them safe and letting them have fun,” he says. “I want this camp to be like any regular summer camp for these kids.”

Camp Smiles has a Facebook page that advertises the camp and provides information to parents. According to Delport, much of their promotions come from word of mouth from campers’ parents at school, support groups and the disabled community. Parents can fill out an application before the start of the camp to register their children. Camp organizers were able to waive the original fee of $100 per week due to last minute sponsorships from the To Live Beyond Foundation, the Waccamaw Community Foundation, and contributions from donor Josh Wilson using his mother’s scholarship fund.

Since the conclusion of Camp Smiles on July 22, Delport and his family have relocated to Seattle, Wash., but he has already set the wheels in motion for the camp to continue next year.

Camp Smiles is seeking a not-for-profit status, according to Delport. The hope is that the current student counselors will recruit incoming sophomores and juniors to make the staff sustainable. Parents' nights will be hosted throughout the year to connect the families, staff and counselors.

"I am deeply saddened not to be part of this wonderful camp experience next summer, but I know that Kim Mendez, Nanci Howard and Anita Howell will keep the vision and mission alive," said Delport.

Temperance Russell contributed to this article.

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