Local organizations team up for Kids and Sibs Camp
Kids and Sibs camper Bella DeGolier is assisted by a Camp Onyahsa staff member onto a wire obstacle at YMCA Camp Onyahsa. Kids and Sibs Camp is designed for children with disabilities and their siblings.
Photos by Christopher Blakeslee Rachel O’Brian, YMCA Camp Onyahsa staff member, is pictured helping Aspen Olson adjust her safety harness prior to navigating an obstacle bridge during Prevention Works Inc., Kids and Sibs Camp.
A Kids and Sibs camper demonstrates his puppeteering skills during a star-studded talent show at YMCA Camp Onyahsa.
Kids and Sibs camper Bella DeGolier is assisted by a Camp Onyahsa staff member onto a wire obstacle at YMCA Camp Onyahsa. Kids and Sibs Camp is designed for children with disabilities and their siblings.
Photos by Christopher Blakeslee Rachel O’Brian, YMCA Camp Onyahsa staff member, is pictured helping Aspen Olson adjust her safety harness prior to navigating an obstacle bridge during Prevention Works Inc., Kids and Sibs Camp.
A Kids and Sibs camper demonstrates his puppeteering skills during a star-studded talent show at YMCA Camp Onyahsa.
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When Laurie Reynolds created Kids and Sibs Camp three years ago, she did it to fill a void, a need and a necessity for the area.
For far too long, Reynolds said, children with disabilities had no camp for which they could call their own or a place to enjoy the great outdoors.
Reynolds, Prevention Works, YMCA Camp Onyahsa and a slew of other volunteers, donors and agencies joined forces in a collaborated effort twice before to run a special needs camp, which is now in its third iteration -- ready to serve more would-be adventurers and their sibling companions.
"This is our third year running this camp and it's absolutely rewarding to see all our kids out here enjoying camp (and) the new activities we've added and seeing all their smiling faces," Reynolds said. "This year we've added a ventriloquist performance, hosted by 716 Puppet Productions, a talent show, in which the campers became the stars of this activity and more all-inclusive programming events.
The inclusivity, to which Reynolds is refereeing to, is apparent to not only the Prevention Works staff, but to that of longtime Camp Onyahsa stalwart and locally tenured college professor, Jon O'Brian.
"It's really about finding what challenges these kids have then working around them to make sure they have the same opportunities as would any camper during regular camping season," said O'Brian, the Jamestown Y's Camp Onyahsa director. "We had one camper who is in a wheelchair and he wanted to go boating, so we built a makeshift dock to wheel him out to a rowboat, got him in and he had a blast boating around our bay with our staff."
The partnership between Camp Onyahsa, Prevention Works and others seems to be one of mutual respect.
"This partnership with Camp Onyahsa, Jon O'Brian and all our funders, volunteers, doners and supporters is amazing," Reynolds said. "None of this would be possible without our assembled, partners and team … working together. We have and will continue to make sure we can support children who are special needs with an amazing camping experience."
Prevention Works Inc., which produces the camping extravaganza, is proud with how much the Kids and Sibs camp aligns with its organization's mission statement: to educate communities on positive life choices by encouraging health, wellness and inclusion.
"Children and their siblings, who have special needs are more prone to becoming depressed, victims of bullying and committing suicide," Reynolds said.
This fact is not lost on the Y camp director and his cohort of staff who stand ready, willing and able to form other collaborative efforts in the future.
"We really try and treat each of these kids as campers," O'Brian said. "Camp is for the campers, and we try and meet these kids right where they are, and we work around any challenges they may have. This camp will always be an inclusive camp, and we welcome any and all opportunities to partner with other agencies, organizations and other not-for-profits who share this same vision of inclusivity for all.
"We really try and treat each of these kids as campers," O'Brian added. "Camp is for the campers, and we try and meet these kids right where they are, and we work around any challenges they may have. This camp will always be an inclusive camp, and we welcome any and all opportunities to partner with other agencies, organizations and other non-for-profits -- who share this same vision of inclusivity for all."
Onyahsa is interested in partnering with other not-for-profit organizations and coalitions of agencies to provide quality day or overnight camp experiences for their clientele, too. For organizations looking to create collaborative programs, rent the Onyahsa facility, or for individuals interested in supporting YMCA Camp Onyahsa's mission, visit onyahsa.org/ or call O'Brian at 716-664-2802
For those wishing to learn more, donate or support the Kids and Sibs Camp or Prevention Works visit preventionworks.us/ or call their office at 716-664-3608.