non-profit

ENN: An Exceptional Experience

In the summer of 2007, 15-year-old Remington Fox walked onto the grounds of Camp Arroyo near Livermore, CA, literally terrified of what he was walking toward. His mother had nudged him to volunteer at a camp for youths with special needs and he was not happy about it.

“My parents heard that this camp was looking for volunteers, so my mom got me an interview. I wasn’t interested at all. I was really intimidated. I didn’t know anything about people with special needs,” he says. “But they thought it would be good for me, so I did it.”

Fast forward to November 2015: My nearly 15-year-old son Christian (heretofore “C”) walked onto the grounds of Camp Arroyo for his first residential camp, a 2-night, 3-day stay only 40 minutes from home. He wasn’t at all terrified, but rather was ready to cut loose without Mom and Dad, fearless as always and eager for Mom to head home.

My wife, Sarah, had camped out most of one night the previous spring to get one of the last slots at the uber-popular Exceptional Needs Network (ENN) camp. After checking in, C met his personal camp counselor, the one and only Remington, who by then was one of the most experienced counselors there.

ENN Remington & C

Christian and Remington

“I volunteered that first summer and fell in love with it,” says Remington. “It really changed my perspective on kids with disabilities.” He’s worked every camp session (three per year) since that first one, and he plans to do it as long as he can. “It’s like a vacation for me. It resets me on what’s really important.” C now feels the same way, about the vacation part anyway.

A Little History

“When my son was young, I needed to find something for him to do outside of school, especially during the summer,” says Valerie Hund, one of the founding mothers of ENN and the current board president. There were no activities available in the Livermore area for kids on the autism spectrum, like Grayson, who need a level of structure and understanding that traditional programs don’t usually provide.

“At that time there was only one after-school program in the area for kids with special needs, but nothing during the summer,” she says. In 2001, she was introduced to another mother with similar concerns, and before long they had formed a small group that eventually became ENN.

They wanted to establish a camp to give the kids an opportunity to enjoy outdoor activities and, equally importantly, give the parents a well-deserved break. “That’s what is different about us,” says Laura Peters, ENN’s camp director. “The other special needs camps in this area are all family camps. Ours is a respite camp just for the kids. As important as it is for the kids to have their own experience, it is also very important that the parents get a break.”

By the next summer, the group had organized its first camp for a small group of children, mostly the children of board members and their friends.

They were fortunate to get access to Camp Arroyo, which the Taylor Family Foundation helped established in 2000 with the East Bay Regional Park District. Operated by YMCA of the East Bay, Camp Arroyo hosts a variety of camps for children with life-threatening and chronic illnesses, developmental disabilities, and youth-at-risk.

ENN climber

Chelsea tackles the climbing wall at Camp Arroyo.

An Awesome Camp Experience

ENN has three camps there each year, two in summer and one in the fall. Campers take part in a wide variety of activities, regardless of their disability, including swimming, zip-lining, a climbing wall, arts and crafts, and other fun activities.

The 45 slots per session fill up quickly every spring, so if you’re not in line in the wee hours before sunrise on registration day, you might be out of luck.

ENN drummer

Brandon keeps the beat.

Exceptional Staff

Remington’s experience is common, first volunteering as an activity aide until turning 18, then becoming a counselor, assigned to one camper for the duration of camp. It’s not 9-to-5, but around the clock from the time the camper arrives until he leaves 3 or 4 days later. And sleep is not guaranteed; ask Remington, who spent many late night hours with C in the aptly named “Up All Night” cabin.

“When I started (as a counselor), they gave me the easier kids,” he says. “Now that I’m more experienced, they often assign me kids that need a little extra help.” He made a strong connection with his very first camper, Ryan, who comes back every summer and requests Remington as his counselor. “He’s my buddy,” says Remington. “We talk throughout the year and even get together for lunch sometimes.”

The counselors are paid, but for most it is a labor of love. “We think it’s really important to have the best staff and we’ve done whatever we needed to do to be sure we could pay them,” says Valerie.

Making Ends Meet

“We rely a lot on fundraisers throughout the year, but a lot of that money dried up during the recession. At the end of our camps in 2009, many of the staff gave some or all of their pay back to help us stay afloat.”

While parents do pay a nominal registration fee, there is no fee to attend camp. To offset the $20,000-plus cost to operate each camp session, the all-volunteer ENN board conducts fundraisers throughout the year, individuals donate or raise funds specifically for ENN, and parents are encouraged to submit a request for funding to their Regional Center for their camp session.

And, of course, donations are always welcome.

ENN zipline

Josh flies on the zipline.

Making Memories

Each camp session ends with a talent show and awards ceremony with specific recognition for each camper. C earned “The Steph Curry Basketball Award” for his MVP-like moves and his deft touch with the roundball.

Sarah, along with the other parents, attended the final event, but, knowing that meant the end of camp, C did not hide his displeasure when he saw her.  As disappointed as he was to have to go home, he is now looking forward to his next camp, this time in the summer with the chance to swim, his second favorite activity after bowling.

Remington, who is a new college graduate and an aspiring children’s book author, will be back as well. “They say Disneyland is the happiest place on Earth, but I think it’s ENN camp. It’s special. It really is a wonderful place.”

head and shoulders

 

About me: I am Pete Resler, a dad of two boys with special needs. I created this blog to tell stories of exceptional people, including those with special needs and those who give of themselves to make life better for them. My hope is that these stories expose more people to what’s good in the special needs world and inspire them to give of themselves to make life better for those with special needs.

You can help:  I’m always looking for new ideas. If you know someone you think should be featured, shoot me a note at specialopstories@gmail.com.

Don’t Dis My Abilities! Help Them Shine!

“I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way – things I had no words for.”  – Georgia O’Keeffe

Artists have a special gift that often lies dormant until someone provides encouragement and opportunity, allowing it to fully blossom. Be it painting, dancing, writing or film-making, creativity needs inspiration and an outlet to release expression, regardless of a person’s physical voice.

DeAnna Pursai and Pam Lindsay have opened that door for adults with disabilities by founding the College of Adaptive Arts (CAA) in San Jose, CA. There students have a unique opportunity to express themselves like they never could before thanks to a dedicated team of professionals who are building a true college experience for people who don’t have a place in a traditional college classroom.

CAA hiphop

Professor Isabella Torres and dance student Renee show their hip-hop moves during the 2015 graduation ceremony. Photo courtesy of Linda Krakow Eaman.

A Better Option

“When people age out of the special education system as young adults, there aren’t many programs for them,” said DeAnna, who serves as executive director and is a public school teacher. “We wanted to provide an environment where they can explore and expand their abilities, not sit in a day program for the rest of their lives because of their disabilities.”

She hatched the idea while running a non-profit theater program for children with disabilities, called Angels on Stage, named for her sister, Angel, who has Down syndrome and acted in a similar troupe as a child in Indiana.

There she met Pam, whose daughter performed with the troupe. With a professional background in acting and other performing arts, she began directing the troupe. She soon saw the need for a similar program for disabled adults and began running an acting workshop for them.

Pam had also been homeschooling her daughter, Val, using theater and music to help Val learn, and was also completing a master’s degree in theater arts with a focus on how techniques used in teaching character acting can be effective in teaching social cognitive skills to autistic children.

CAA founders

CAA co-founders Pam Lindsay and DeAnna Pursai. Photo courtesy of Linda Krakow Eaman.

Going Live

With DeAnna’s experience in special education (she still teaches part-time) and running a non-profit, and Pam’s arts and education expertise, they launched CAA in 2009, renting a small space at a dance studio for their first 12 students. Seven years in, CAA has moved around a bit as discounted spaces are lost and new ones found, all the while growing to more than 70 students today.

They enjoy eight different courses of study, learning dance, vocal and instrumental performance, TV and film production, fine arts, and a variety of other courses in the arts and other educational disciplines and life skills.

And like traditional universities, CAA offers low-cost bachelor’s and master’s degree tracks in each discipline. The standards and accreditation are unique to CAA, but that fits its unique community perfectly. And so does the staff, more than half of whom also have a disability.

Life is a Stage

Performers and artists learn their craft in the classroom, then, like other professionals, take to the public stage, screen and gallery to share their art with the masses. Performance groups, such as the graduate theater troupe, perform for local children, while TV and film students produce a TV show and debut their short films at the annual Celebrating Differing Abilities Film Festival.

Several aspiring actors even had the opportunity to participate in a professional-style audition before some of the top professionals in Bay Area theater through a partnership with City Lights Theater in San Jose. Students experienced it all, from preparing their resumes, complete with professional photos, to rehearsing, performing and receiving feedback from the panel.

“It was really a great experience for the students to feel the pressure and excitement of a real audition,” said Pam. “But it was also a real revelation for the professional judges, who now view our actors as legitimate members of the theater community.”

CAA Carlos & Nathalie

Carlos and Nathalie keep the rhythm during one of many music classes at CAA.

Student Ambassadors

When it comes to selling the school, the students are the secret sauce. “Every time someone tours the college or the students go out and perform, we win at least one more heart,” said DeAnna. “We’re not a day care; our students want to be here to learn, create and contribute, and it shows in their enthusiasm.”

When it came time to find the space the college now occupies, it was a student who sold the property owner on providing the space at a discount. But with that discount comes the possibility that CAA will lose that space if someone else is willing to pay full price. “We’ve had times when we’ve lost our space and had to scramble to find places to hold our classes,” she said. “We’re very fortunate and thankful that we have this space, but we are always looking for a permanent place to call home.”

Growing on a Permanent Foundation

Their goal is to find an area college that will welcome CAA as a charter school on campus, providing a permanent home and giving students a real campus where they can utilize more resources and mingle with typical peers.

“Once we have a more permanent location, we’d like to grow into other markets to provide opportunity to adults with disabilities in other parts of the country,” said DeAnna. They have also submitted a grant application to fund the technology they need to provide distance learning for people who are physically unable to get to campus or live in other parts of the world.

Stay Tuned

The story of CAA is rich and evolving, with students, professors and volunteers all working to build a community where adults with special needs can learn, grow and express themselves as they want. It’s all too much to tell in a single post, so stay tuned to Special Ops for more stories of exceptional people at CAA!

About me: I am Pete Resler, a dad of two boys with special needs. I created this blog to tell stories of head and shouldersincredibly good people, including those with special needs and those who give of themselves to make life better for them. My hope is that these stories expose more people to what’s good in the special needs world and inspire them to give of themselves to make life better for those with special needs.

You can help:  I’m always looking for new ideas. If you know someone you think should be featured, shoot me a note at specialopstories@gmail.com.