Since 1975, Camp Sue Osborn has provided a place for children and young adults with special needs in Lake and Geauga counties to experience swimming, fishing, hiking, campfires and a talent show that sometimes brings its audience to tears.
Since 1975, Camp Sue Osborn has provided a place for children and young adults with special needs in Lake and Geauga counties to experience swimming, fishing, hiking, campfires and a talent show that sometimes brings its audience to tears.
Held annually at Camp Burton on Butternut Road, the organization brings together children and camp counselors in a setting where participants, many of whom face challenges in school or among their peers, thrive.
Brandy Siegel is the director of Camp Sue Osborn and has worked at the camp for 14 years.
“For some of these kids, academics are tough, but they get to come out here and they fluorish,” she said.
The talent show, an annual highlight, gives them an opportunity to show off their camp-earned skills.
“The mood of that event is just amazing,” Siegel said, adding campers and former campers attend, as well as their families and even former staff members.
“Camp comes around and your whole life is rejuvenated,” she added.
The counselors, most of whom work one on one with the campers, thrive there as well. After the program is over, Siegel said the counselors talk about having “camp depression” from no longer being with the children and people who have become lifelong friends.
Jeremy Maiher has come to camp from his home in Painesville for about 10 years. He spent the morning of July 19 dancing the “Wakka Wakka” with dance teacher Anna Tribuzzo.
Siegel asked him why he likes to come to camp and he responded “to be with you Brandy! Now you owe me $100.”
After the laughter died down, Siegel explained Maiher and other campers go on outings throughout the year with counselors who want to continue to show their love even when camp is over.
This year, Camp Sue had about 65 campers and 65 staff and volunteers working to keep programs flowing smoothly and teaching campers to dance and assist with medical or emotional needs.
One volunteer comes simply to do the laundry, a task that would have taken time out of another counselor’s day.
Many of the counselors have family ties to campers, including Anna, a special education teacher at Newbury Schools who teaches dance classes at Camp Sue. Her younger sister, Jenna, has been coming to camp since she was 10. Anna came along as an aide to help her sister and other campers, and now she is a counselor.
Campers have seven periods of activity during the day, which Siegel explains helps them maintain routines. They attend different activities with a group of seven or eight peers, who are chosen based on the ways in which they will encourage growth in each other.
Casey Smith coordinates nightly activities at the camp. This year’s camp activities included a hands-on animal show, Rockin’ Robots, a Japanese drum troop, a carnival, a one-man band and a nighttime swim.
A majority of camp counselors are teachers and Smith is no exception – he teaches high school classes at Medina County’s Windfall School, a special education school for children ages six to 21.
The positive outcomes from attending camp affect not only the campers but the counselors, too, he said.
“I can’t imagine myself not doing it,” Smith said.
He explained one counselor changed his college major to special education after working at the camp for two summers.
A new bonus for campers who have aged out of the program, which is available up to two years after graduation from high school, is they can now attend an “alumni camp” that takes place a week before the traditional camp.
“Before we had alumni camp, we would end camp with a song called ‘Linger,’” Smith explained.
The song was about passing the seasons of the year waiting for something that wouldn’t come — in this case a return to camp for those who had aged out — but instead of feeling sad, “just lingering in the memory of that happiness.”
“Once they transition to alumni camp, you no longer look at them as campers — they become family and friends,” Smith said.
Funding for the program comes through the United Way Services of Lake and Geauga counties, which means participants from those counties can attend overnight camp for $250 instead of the $1,100 it would cost to attend as non-residents.
People can start applying at the website around April — camp is open to any student in Lake and Geauga counties recognized as having a disability by a local school system in Lake or Geauga County, including those with documented learning disabilities, vision impairments, hearing impairments and orthopedic, developmental or multiple handicaps.
Although every application must be submitted with a $25 fee, some families are unable to afford the subsidized $250 cost. As a result, the program offers “camperships” to those who need financial assistance.
“Our goal is to get every kid who wants to be here, here,” Siegel said.
The camp does actively accept donations through its website, www.campsueosborn.org, to keep the programs running. Many staff members also donate their paycheck back to the camp.
Students can attend the overnight program at Camp Burton as young as age 7. Camp Sue Osborn also runs as a two-week day camp at the Perry YMCA earlier in the summer, and participants can attend both the day camp and the overnight camp once they are old enough.
To apply for next year’s camp, visit www.campsueosborn.com/camper-applications.
Sue Osborn also welcomes teen aides. To apply to volunteer visit www.campsueosborn.org/teenage-volunteers/.
Donations are always accepted at www.campsueosborn.org/donate.
