CAMP TLC 2011 at Camp John Marc

For 20 years SBANT, with the support of Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, has sponsored a weeklong residential camping experience in the foothills of the Texas Hill Country, at Camp John Marc (http://www.campjohnmarc.org), called Camp TLC.

Camp John Marc is nationally recognized as a premier therapeutic camp, known both for its incredible facility and its innovative programming. The non-profit organization that operates the camp, Special Camps for Special Kids, underwrites over3/4 of the expenses of Camp TLC. This year, many parents made generous donations that paid a significant portion of the $10,000 in expenses that SBANT is responsible for. The Tea for Joy event , held each May, made a significant gift to SBANT for camp expenses, as did a recurring gift from a Camp John Marc Board member, who also helps to support our family camps held at CJM.

This year, nearly 100 campers had a blast. Although we’ve never formally surveyed the kids, we’re pretty sure the universal response to “Why do you like camp?” would be “Because it’s fun!” (probably accompanied by that irritating “Duh” look they must all learn in kindergarten.)

A very nontraditional camp highlight this year was the viewing of the final NBA championship game, thanks to a borrowed flat screen TV, a borrowed antenna, a long 2x4, some duct tape, and an “app” on Jeff Carter’s I-phone that locates broadcast towers! (Who knew Jeff had so much McGyver in him?)

We did survey all of our parents who had given us email contact information. Out of 75 parents, we got a decent 33% response rate.The most repeated comments from parents were:

“She is more confident since she got back from camp.”
“He’s more willing to try new things.”
“She made new friends who understand her disability.”
“He is even more independent.”
“He came home with more maturity.”
“She gets the opportunity to be more assertive, and a leader, at camp.”

Comments like these confirm our belief that this that this rather expensive and volunteer labor-intensive program is one SBANT can be proud of.

For pictures from camp please visit our new Picasa photo page at 2011 Camp TLC!

If you have questions regarding camp, please contact Joanne Hurtekant at hurtekant@sbcglobal.net.

Calling All Volunteers!

If you are a person in good health who likes kids and isn’t afraid of hard work, this may be the most rewarding week you have ever experienced. Many of our counselors come back year after year. Please contact Joanne Hurtekant at hurtekant@sbcglobal.net if you would like to apply.  You may also visit camptlc-sbant.com for details and an informative video!