Do you know is so great about this line up of empty wheelchairs??
The kids are all in the swimming pool!! YEAH!!
Monday through Friday this past week we commuted from our home to Santa Barbara (about an hour and half south) to volunteer our time at the Jr. Wheelchair Sports Camp held at UCSB. The long days were so incredibly worth it!! I was uplifted and inspired, as I knew I would be at this awesome camp. Evan had participated many years at this camp. And both Mike and I have volunteered before. When he aged out of camp three years ago I kind of went through withdrawal. I really missed the smiles and joy from the kids at camp! There is magic that happens between the kids and the counselors. All wheelchair users.
So, a few months ago, I contacted the director and asked if Mike, Evan and I could volunteer. They were happy to have us and said they would find something for Evan to do. He was able to be a volunteer for the older group of campers under one of our favorite counselors, Bill Balles. You can read more about Bill here.
The adult counselors and coaches at this camp are such great role models for the campers. And the campers are so inspiring and willing to try to new and scary things!! It was just a privilege to be a small part of helping it all to happen.
We were asked not to post pictures of campers so I respected that and didn't take many pictures at all. However, if you would like to learn more about camp. I KNOW you do. Here is a video of the local KEYT news story. You will be amazed at how well spoken the campers were!! And just look at those smiles!!
Click here for an article in a local Santa Barbara paper. And here for a slideshow of pictures. And one more webpage from Big Wave Dave right here. He captured some great smiles!!
I hope we can volunteer next year. Maybe you can too!!
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