The Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia

The “can-do” attitude that Sister Tina Still (center) brings to her camp ministry is contagious—and changes the lives of all those involved.

Music plays in Laurel Lodge and a number of campers and counselors are dancing to the beat. It is Wednesday night at Mt. Hood Kiwanis Camp—the night of the big dance at this week-long sleep-away camp session. Trent, a veteran camper, has been invited onto the floor by Sister Tina Still, counselor supervisor and assistant camp director. It just happens to be Sister Tina’s birthday and after a couple of twirls around the room, Trent asks Sister Tina if she has enjoyed her birthday dance. Touched by the question, she says she has and asks Trent if he enjoyed himself. “Yes,” he answers with tears in his eyes. “Thank you.”

Although it is not unusual for campers to have their “first dance” at sleep-away camp, this is a particularly special experience for Trent—who is mentally retarded and has severe cerebral palsy. Accustomed to needing help with everything from dressing himself to eating, Trent has never been out of his wheelchair for a dance. The opportunity to experience that kind of freedom was nothing short of exhilarating. “Trent couldn’t hold onto me so I hooked his elbows over my shoulders, held him around the waist and we danced,” said Sister Tina. “It was an incredible moment for Trent and for me.”

Mt. Hood Kiwanis Camp is in the business of creating just such incredible moments for people with moderate to severe disabilities. Nestled among the towering evergreens of Mt. Hood National Forest, the camp serves nearly 500 campers per summer. The program runs eight, one-week sessions that pack all the activities of a traditional camp into a specially adapted experience for individuals with one or more physical, emotional, or neurological disabilities, including autism, vision or hearing impairments, developmental disabilities, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, brain or spinal cord injuries, and other challenges. The days are filled with horseback riding, arts and crafts, fishing, swimming, adventure course challenges, and canoeing. Evenings feature dances, carnivals, camp outs, and a skit night.

“In the community’s commitment statement, we talk about serving those who have no voice,” said Sister Tina. “For me, working at the camp is a way to do that. Our campers are so often ostracized, stared at, and made fun of in their everyday lives. Here they are the normal people. We do everything we can to make them feel good about themselves.”

After their morning rituals, the campers and counselors start on a hike through the woods to a nearby waterfall.

Anything but Typical

“From the moment I stepped into the camp, I fell in love with the campers, with the program, and with the possibilities,” said Sister Tina, who has been working at Mt. Hood Kiwanis Camp since 1988 when she served as a counselor as part of her graduate school experience at Portland State University. She has been returning for an average of four weeks each summer nearly every year since then. Although her full-time ministry is now vocations (new membership), Sister Tina’s background in education, her master’s degree in adapted physical education, and her natural gift for bringing out the best in people make her a valuable part of the extraordinary team that makes the Mt. Hood Kiwanis Camp experience possible.

Although the camp strives to provide its campers with a “typical” summer camp experience, the program is anything but run of the mill. The range and severity of campers’ disabilities require staff members to make significant adaptations and to take great care with every activity they offer. A ramp allows campers in wheelchairs to more easily mount horses for riding. A two-and-a-half foot deep swimming pool provides even those with the most severe physical disabilities a safe place to cool off. A daily journaling activity takes different forms for different campers—those who are able compose their own entries, others contribute drawings to accompany their counselors’ text, and still others bring home journals that have been carefully filled by their counselors.

Lynn Schiermeyer was astounded by the journal and photographs her fifteen-year-old daughter Lori brought home from her first experience at Mt. Hood Kiwanis Camp. “They took wonderful pictures that showed Lori swimming, canoeing, and zipping across the zip line. Her counselor wrote in her journal every day telling what she took part in and enjoyed,” said Lynn. “I can’t find the words to describe how thrilled we are at the amount of patience, time, care, and attention that was put into her week there. It is five days a year that she gets to be as normal as possible and to do things she would never be able to do otherwise.”

The Little Things

By the end of their week at camp, most campers—even those with the most severe disabilities—have taken part in nearly every activity the camp has to offer. But for many of them, it is the small successes that mean the most. For one camper this summer, the most memorable moment of the week came when he was able to thread a bead onto his nametag all by himself. For another, it was finally brushing his teeth without help.

“We have parents who call and say, ‘What have you done? My son won’t let me brush his teeth anymore. He insists on doing it himself,’” said Sister Tina. “Some parents are happy about that and some aren’t but for us it is a success. It means we have given that person a little bit more independence.”

With the help of their counselors, the campers spend time each day filling in their journals.

Like any good summer camp, Mt. Hood Kiwanis Camp is not just about mastering feats; it is also about mastering fears. Sister Tina smiles as she remembers one of this year’s campers who arrived at camp extraordinarily afraid of animals. “It was so bad that she would start screaming, kicking, and biting at the sight of one of the cats that the camp employs to keep the rodent population under control,” said Sister Tina.

Needless to say, this young lady wanted nothing to do with horseback riding. “Her father had told us that it was no use even attempting to get her near the horses,” said Sister Tina. “I told her that she didn’t have to do anything she didn’t want to do. I suggested, however, that she might like to go just halfway up the hill that leads to the horse corral so she could hear the horses. Once we calmed her down a bit at the halfway point we asked her if she wanted to go to the gate just to look at the horses. The next day we went into the waiting area. By the end of the second day she was petting the horses and loving every minute of it.”

Transformation

Campers aren’t the only ones being transformed at Mt. Hood. Many counselors report being changed by their experience at the camp as well. Although the supervisors of the camp all hold masters degrees in related fields, the counselors themselves consist almost exclusively of Portland State University students who choose to work two one-week sessions to fulfill the university’s capstone project requirement. A one-to-one ratio of counselors to campers means that each counselor is responsible for his or her assigned camper. Students from every department take part and most have no experience working with people with disabilities beyond the day of orientation and day and a half of training that the camp provides.

“The experience changes the counselors’ lives,” said Camp Director Evelyn Coffey. “They learn a lot about themselves—how they work with others, how they perform under stress. They also never look at people with disabilities the same way again. They begin to see the desire of people with disabilities to do things and to be involved. They start to see beyond the campers’ disabilities and to focus on their abilities.”

Can Do

In fact, the camp has much the same effect on the campers themselves. Faced so often with obstacles, they are often reminded here of all they can do. “There was a study several years ago that looked at camps similar to ours and studied whether they provide long-term benefits,” said Sister Tina. “The answer was a resounding ‘yes’! Camps like ours increase self-esteem and independence and they allow individuals with disabilities to acquire new skills and to see and experience things they would otherwise not have a chance to. I’ve seen it myself. Our campers have a wonderful time while they are here; then they go home feeling like the significant, valued, capable people they are. To me that’s success!”

Visit www.mhkc.org for more on Mt. Hood Kiwanis Camp.

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HOW YOU CAN HELP...

• Volunteer your time at an organization in your town or city that serves people with disabilities. Places like Mt. Hood Kiwanis Camp could not survive without the time and commitment of its many volunteers and staff members.

• Challenge your stereotypes and misconceptions about people with disabilities. Encourage others to do the same.

• Ask yourself whether your neighborhood, your workplace, and/or your place of worship are accessible and welcoming places for people with disabilities. If not, advocate change wherever possible. Neighborhood playgrounds can be equipped for children in wheelchairs, businesses can utilize the time and talent of workers who are disabled, and churches and synagogues can take extra care in ensuring that people with disabilities are able to find enriching ways to engage in the life of the faith community.

• Devote some of your “free time” to helping others. Carve out a day, a weekend, or even a week to provide service to those who could use your help. Though not a typical vacation, you may find that you get back as much as you give.

• Contribute to the ministry. Funds are needed—here’s what your donation (large or small) could do: $5 furnishes arts and craft supplies for one camper for one week; $75 provides fish and fish food for one week at the fish pond; $150 heats the swimming pool for one week; $250 provides the ropes course experience for the entire camp for one week. Make tax-deductible contributions online via our secure website