Va. Beach camp highlights ability to have fun

VIRGINIA BEACH

Tim Howard grabbed the mic and began to announce awards he'd created for each counselor at Camp Horizon.

"The one and only Patricia Coale!" he called out with the theatrical intonation of an emcee. Howard, 30, handed Coale a lined piece of paper where he'd written "Greatest Director Award" at the top.

Howard, like many of the other young adults and teens with disabilities in the room, comes to Camp Horizon every summer.

"I enjoy it every year," he said. He lives in a group home with several other adults and has been coming to camp for five or six years. The best part is "the staff - how nice they are to us." Outside camp, people aren't always so nice to people like him, he said. Other campers nodded in agreement.

For eight weeks each summer since 2003, Camp Horizon has brought together children and adults with a range of abilities at Virginia Wesleyan College. An earlier version of the camp was established in 2000.

The program, run by the Norfolk-based Up Center, is funded by the United Way, as well as through fees and donations. Day campers pay $350 per week and overnight campers pay $530 per week, though scholarships are available. A bout 120 campers attended this summer.

During field day activities Friday, counselors pushed campers in wheelchairs around punching bags and pulled baskets close to help each camper sink a ball. Members of other teams cheered from the sidelines.

Counselor Dan Crape cheered on Howard as each of his three beanbags sailed through the opening in a cornhole board.

Campers swim, go on field trips, play games, sing and make art projects. Some of the older campers stay overnight in dorms and enjoy nighttime cookouts and musical performances.

"It's really fun. We watch movies. We can stay up late," said Meredith Monahan, 24.

But not too late, added Katie Blind, 22. "We wake up around 7 a.m."

For the two women and their friend Julie Touhey, 24, camp is a time to be on their own. The best friends all have Down syndrome.

"Coming to camp means to be independent, make new friends, meet new counselors and just have fun and be yourself," Blind said.

Her mother, Joan Blind, said she was overcome by emotion when she dropped off Katie for the week. It was the same feeling she had when she sent her other two children off to college.

"This is the pinnacle of our summer," she said. "It provides Katie the chance to enjoy camp, just like any young adult would."

Lauren Roth, (757) 222-5133, lauren.roth@pilotonline.com