MDA Summer Camp Has Perks For All Participants

Alana Folen
Wednesday - December 12, 2007
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Steele Okamoto of Honolulu and Apple Isidro of Kailua
Steele Okamoto of Honolulu and Apple Isidro of Kailua-Kona dance the night away at the MDA summer camp. Photo from Jennifer Li.

The Muscular Dystrophy Association is seeking volunteers for its next summer camp, to be held June 6-13 at YMCA Camp H.R. Erdman on Oahu’s North Shore.

The volunteers will serve as counselors and companions to the campers with neuromuscular diseases, helping them with daily activities such as eating, dressing and bathing. They also will take part in recreational activities with the campers like swimming, horseback riding and arts and crafts.


“We need someone who can roast the perfect marshmallow for campfire s’mores,” said MDA health care services coordinator Jennifer Li.“We need someone who is brave enough to sing a duet during the ‘Camp Idol’ karaoke contest. We need someone to give a little extra help in the swimming pool on a hot June afternoon.”

Volunteers should be at least 16 years old and able to lift and care for a camper between the ages of 6 and 21. Li said it is the help of volunteers that makes the summer camp possible.

Not only do the attendees benefit from the camp, the volunteers also gain much in return. “I feel MDA summer camp helped me grow as a person by letting me help others,” said past volunteer Ed Brodzinski.“I had a lot of fun with the activities. I can’t wait to come back next year and hope to become a regular participant. I met a lot of new friends who have brightened my whole year. I learned what caring really means. After all, I feel a lot better about myself as a person and would like to get involved with MDA beyond summer camp.”


The program serves more than 4,000 campers in nearly 80 locations nationwide at no cost to the families.

For an application or more information, call (800) 572-1717 or visit www.mda.org/clinics/camp

 

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