New Camp PARC caters to special-needs children

Local News

Discussion

June 2, 2009

By ARLENE JOHNS The Tribune-Democrat Tue Jun 02, 2009, 11:30 PM EDT

For 50 years, Camp PARC has been bringing together special-needs individuals and volunteers for a week of fun.

Camp PARC, which stands for People Always Responding with Compassion, is held in Laurel Hill State Park in Somerset.

Its vision is to provide campers with acceptance through socialization with non-handicapped peers.

The camp, which runs from July 26-Aug. 1, now is open only to those 15 and older.

But a new program will cater to younger campers. That camp, scheduled July 19-22, will be geared to children ages 7 to 15 who have special needs, including developmental and intellectual disabilities and those identified through school systems as being eligible for life skills classes.

Held at the same location as Camp PARC, the new “mini-camp” will operate on a smaller scale than the main session.

Ted Risch of Davidsville, camp director and a teacher at North Star Elementary School, said the idea came from parents who wanted a more age-appropriate program.

“The majority of parents did not want to send children into a camp with mostly adults,” he said. “They would love to send their kids to a camp, but would like it to be for kids in their age group.”

The new program will be peer-based, with each camper paired with a non-disabled camper in same age range. Together they will participate in daily activities and be supervised by an older counselor.

David Saylor, 12, son of Diane Conrad and Mark Saylor of Davidsville, will volunteer as a “peer buddy.”

A previous Camp PARC volunteer, the sixth-grader said his role is to help the mentally challenged youngsters feel special.

“It really makes you feel that you’ve done something right and good,” he said. “I think it really helps us and them, too.”

Risch said there has been an enthusiastic response from young people wanting to volunteer for the new camp.

“We have so many that want to be a peer buddy that we had to cut that off and put them on a waiting list,” he said.

Applications for campers are due June 15.

There is a waiting list for the main camp, but openings are available for the new camp.

For an application, call 479-4739 or e-mail campdirector@campparc.org.

Text Only | Photo Reprints

Local News

$27.1B budget proposed
Gov. Tom Corbett on Tuesday proposed a budget of $27.1 billion, with no tax increases, deep cuts to higher education assistance and a range of cost-cutting in services for the poor, elderly and disabled.

February 7, 2012 1 Photo
Highlights of Gov. Corbett's state spending plan
Read on to see a bulleted list of Gov. Tom Corbett’s $27.1 billion state spending plan for the year that starts July 1.

February 8, 2012 1 Photo
Universities face steep cuts
State universities still trying to recover from deep cuts last year would have their public funding slashed even further under a budget plan unveiled Tuesday, leading some institutions to warn of a choice between maintaining buildings and offering academic programs students need to graduate.

February 7, 2012
Plan hurts middle class, local Democrats contend
While members of his own party praised Gov. Tom Corbett’s fiscal restraint, some local Democratic lawmakers said the Republican’s proposed budget panders to corporate interests while inflicting pain on the middle class.

February 7, 2012
Senate approves proposed fee on shale drilling
The state Senate voted today to impose a fee on natural-gas drilling in Pennsylvania and expand regulations for the booming industry, a milestone in a debate that has raged in the Capitol for several years.
Senators voted 31-19 to approve the 174-page bill that would fund road work and environmental clean-ups and give local governments the power to decide if the fee would be imposed on their local wells.
“Could we have done better? Supposedly, but it has taken three years to get this far,” said supporter Sen. John Wozniak, D-Johnstown, among a handful who crossed party lines. “It is time to turn the page.”

February 7, 2012
Blogging with heart
I've got so much stuff for this Sunday's American Heart Month package, that some of the stories will spill over onto Monday. But I don't know what to leave out, or hold for the next week, so it looks like a double hit this week.

February 7, 2012 1 Photo
Pa. gas drilling fee bill debate ends without vote
Pennsylvania, the only major gas-producing state that does not tax the taking of natural gas from its soil, moved closer Tuesday to imposing a fee on the drilling in the vast Marcellus Shale reserves that have transformed the state in recent years.

February 7, 2012 1 Photo
Detour hurting some Portage businesses
Craig Mazzarese’s business depends heavily on drive-by customers, but since last week fewer drive-bys have been stopping

February 7, 2012 2 Photos
Local airport funding intact
Airport leaders here are breathing sighs of relief after Congress approved funding to support local commercial air service through 2015.

February 7, 2012
With state revenue tight, Westmont seeks school budget input
The Westmont Hilltop school board on Tuesday night held a public forum at the middle school to explain why the district, already one of the most efficient in the state, must raise taxes each year.

February 7, 2012
More Local News Headlines

Local News

Search Results

Discussion

New Camp PARC caters to special-needs children

Do you support Gov. Tom Corbett’s proposed state budget for fiscal year 2012-13?

Contact Us