By William Higelmire, Ed. D., CTRS

"We get a lot of letters from parents. A lot of kids don't make it back. They pass away. So many times, I get a letter saying "Thank you. It was the best of their life when they came to camp." Sometimes you get worn out and you just want to quit and forget about it, and then something like that comes along." Comments such as these fill a conversation with Don McDowell, Director of Camp New Hope, as he describes his continued involvement with the camp. Now in its 16th year, Camp New Hope hosted 38 disabled campers its first year. Now the camp serves about 650 annually. Campers come from throughout the state, with Coles County residents given first priority. For many of the campers who participate, this is the first time in their lives that they have this type of experience. Ending the annual summer season is perhaps more difficult than beginning it.

The beginning

It began with frustration. "We found out that a lot of recreation programs were missing," Don said. "You could teach them to go out and work, but there was nothing for leisure time. We started renting places. The first was a beach area at Lake Mattoon. We could use that at 11 o'clock in the morning, and the so-called 'normal' people would come in, so we had to leave. That kind of made me mad, you know."

Their research took them to other, similar camps for the handicapped. "We visited a lot of camps, trying to get ideas on what to do," Don recalled. "We got a lot of ideas in what not to do, because they weren't accessible. All the other programs that we found would not take a very low-level individual, or one that couldn't walk well. We said, 'Well, hey, those kids need it as bad or worse than others!' We just decided that's the way it was going to be. Whenever we have to start to turn these kids away, I'll be done."

Today, Camp New Hope is located in east central Illinois on Lake Mattoon, 13 miles south of Mattoon and 3 miles north of Neoga. On the lake shore, the camp has immediate access to boating and fishing and a fenced-in swimming pool. The campgrounds are fully accessible, with asphalt pathways laid throughout 40 acres.

Screen printing in arts and crafts provides a creative outlet for campers. Photo by M. A. Lindall.

The main building, which seats over 100 people, houses the dining hall, restrooms, game room, and program offices. Six comfortable cabins surround the main building, each accommodating up to six campers and two staff members. An arts and crafts pavilion, outdoor theater, large floating dock and fishing pier, pioneer cabin, maintenance building and administrative center complete the physical facilities. Special activities include riding the camp train, jumping in the moon walk, hayriding and enjoying the regularly scheduled dances and live bands. Although the major emphasis is on recreation and enjoyment, self-help and socialization skills are taught and encouraged. Special projects and programmatic input are received from nearby colleges, including Eastern Illinois University and Lake Land College, which offer curricula in the areas of Therapeutic Recreation, Special Education and Child Care.

Goals of Camp New Hope

Camp New Hope is a nationally recognized residential camping program which serves children and adults with developmental disabilities. Although a camp for people with special needs may require special modifications, the goals of a camping experience are similar for the disabled and non-disabled alike. A week at camp offers an opportunity to develop self-confidence; to develop personal and social skills; to mature physically, mentally and emotionally; and to achieve the success and satisfaction that only comes from a camping environment.

"If they need our programs, they're eligible. If they're shut out of other community programs, they're welcome to ours," Don said. "A kid with a serious health problem can't join the local baseball team or something like that, but he might be able to come out and join our programs. We can adapt our programs to fit their needs. That's what makes our programs unique. We adapt the programs to meet the needs of the individual. They don't have to fit our programs."

Camp New Hope has been carefully designed to meet the needs of those unable to participate in regular camping opportunities. The camp fee is determined annually. Churches, clubs, and civic organizations assist in providing 'camperships' for those who cannot pay the full fee.

Camp New Hope is open to all developmentally disabled children and adults, regardless of race, ethnic origin, religion or sex. Applicants are urged to make their reservations as early as possible, space is limited, and campers will be accepted on a first-registered, first served basis. The camping season will run for approximately 10 weeks and provides overnight camping from early June through mid-August.

A community effort Camp New Hope began day camping in 1973 and residential programming during the summer of 1977. "In '73, we had our first day camp — we had the main building so we could have a summer day camp there," Don said. "We sat down and decided, if we had as much money as we wanted, what would we do. Building cabins and things like this. We just dreamed up things, and a lot of those things have become reality, because the commmunity got behind it." The camp was built by private donations, with operations funded by numerous services — the United Way, the 708 Mental Health Board, the Jaycees, the Knights of Columbus, the Fraternal Order of Police and many others.

Campers learn to enjoy some of the finer things in life . . . like leisurely fishing by the water-front. Photo by M. A. Lindwall.

Music in the out-of-doors with friends is a first-time experience many enjoy at Camp New Hope. Photo by M. A. Lindwall. "We adapt the programs to meet the needs of the individual. They don't have to fit our programs."

"We run whatever programs we can afford," Don said. "We'll have a good, 10-week program for the summer. Our funding is not stable. We never know what we're going to do the next year. But when I took this job in '77 it was just for one year, because we didn't know if we could make it or not." "We've got a new boat this year, and we can put wheelchairs right on the boat," he explained. "I had this little girl out there in a wheelchair. She turned around and she said, 'This is the first time I've ever been on a boat.' I said, 'Do you like it?' and she said 'yes!' She was just glowing out there, and that's nice. Now if you can make a kid happy. . . ." ABOUT THE AUTHOR: William Higelmire, Ed. D., CTRS, is Assistant Professor for the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, IL. He is a member of the area's Games Committee for Special Olympics and has a broad background of work with multi-handicapped persons in clinical and community programming.