Organizing a day camp for approximately 350 challenged youth and young adults it quite an undertaking. But SCAMP director Donna Clancy is enjoying every minute of it.
‘I love being here,? Clancy said.
The 28-year Clarkston resident is in her first year as SCAMP director. She started off as just a volunteer trying to gain some knowledge in how to take care of challenged children.
‘I used to take a friend’s son overnight and I had no special training so I thought this would be a good way to get that,? Clancy said. ‘The best thing I ever did was volunteer for SCAMP.?
Clancy, who had been involved with helping plan the Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Detroit Grand Prix, fell in love with SCAMP. She spent three years as a volunteer and three years as a board member before becoming director.
SCAMP, in its 28th year in Clarkston, services 350 challenged individuals during a five week day camp. There is no age limit. Traditionally about 90 percent of the students have one or more disabilities (autism, mental or emotional impairment, learning disability, speech and language delay or physical handicap). The remaining 10 percent are identified by school personnel as students ‘at risk? and in need of a positive summer experience.
Activities during the camp include swimming and fishing at Independence Oaks, going to the playground and golfing.
‘Our thought is that everybody is somebody at SCAMP. Everybody is good and just as special at our camp,? Clancy said. ‘It is horrible to say but these are the kids that nobody wants in the neighborhoods and that is too bad. That is just how it is.?
Every weekday during the camp, the buses pour into the SCAMP office at 8:50 a.m. coming from places as far as Oak Park. The campers, along with the approximately 350 workers (both volunteers and paid), head into the Clarkston Middle School cafeteria for warm-up.
‘It is incredible to see those 700 people in the cafeteria singing songs, warming-up and getting excited. It means the world to these kids,? Clancy said.
Each day brings a new activity for the camp members. In addition to the road trips, the campers are also treated to special days including an ice cream social, a carnival day and a puppet show.
‘Everybody has such a wonderful time,? Clancy said.
While Clancy puts in a lot of hard work to make sure the camp runs smoothly, she is quick to point out that there is no way it would happen without the Clarkston community. She credits everybody from the business community to the bus drivers.
‘The Clarkston community has really embraced this program and we are so lucky. All I have to do is pick up the phone and ask and the community responds. It is never a question of if it will get done, but rather how it will get done,? Clancy said. ‘We have a great community with great volunteers. The board here also does an excellent job and gives a lot of their valuable time.?
Whether it is Mesquite Creek donating 500 lunches for a home tour, the Clarkston bus drivers taking the campers all around town or something as simple as local attorney Neil Wallace playing with the kids every Thursday, Clancy said a project like this could not be done without an extreme amount of community involvement.
‘It just warms my heart to think about how the community really helps us out. When you see the smiles on the kids? faces you know it is all worth the effort of working 15 to 16 hour days,? Clancy said.
The cost to send one kid to the camp is $800. SCAMP asks Clarkston kids to pay $275 while out of district campers are asked to pay $305.
‘But nobody is turned away because they can’t afford it,? Clancy is quick to point out.
In order to raise enough money, SCAMP has numerous fundraisers throughout the year including the recently completed Home Tour, a SCAMP walk, a Councours in the Park on Aug. 1, the Clarence Catallo Run on Aug. 16 and a golf outing on Sept. 12.
‘Those are the five big fundraisers we have so no child is turned away for financial reasons,? Clancy said. ‘The turnout we get for those are great. We have high school students coming out and walking for SCAMP. It makes you feel good.?
The SCAMP program takes place from June 23 to July 24 this year.
Clancy has had to actually turn volunteers down because the requests have been so high in numbers. She believes the volunteers get just as much out of the experience as the campers.
‘This program really provides career opportunities. I would be interested in finding out how many of the former volunteers over the last 27 years decided to go into careers such as social work or speech therapy due to their involvement in SCAMP.?
For more information you can call (248) 620-1882 or visit the website www.clarkstonscamp.com.