Camp Testimonials
Camper Testimonials
“Hi, um, I was really happy to meet everybody and to learn like everything new about people and like to learn what they … like to learn and that … people have like the same skills or like things that I like or have the same personality.” ~ Camper
“Well, I think a big thing for me in this camp was getting to know new people mostly. The boxes were interesting as well, but mostly it was the people that I got to meet and I will say, I’m glad that Andy and Gabby requested it for me. I was on edge about it at first, but it’s been… really fun. I would definitely do another… camp like this in the future.” ~ Camper
Staff Testimonials
“Camp was a wonderful collaboration and I’d like to just say that I was just so inspired, I don’t know, almost overwhelmed at the things that you all shared. You know, some people who started off… more quiet than others would slowly pipe in and share a commonality, something in common that someone else had said. And then week after week, people adding
more and more, and then even today, some of the people that, you know, listened to a lot of the time and then shared some of their talents and abilities today…just blew me away. I think it’s not too late for me to learn another language. So, I’m totally inspired. So, thank you, guys. It’s so nice to be part of this network and meet all of you.” ~ Sue Abel, Host
“Even before you guys introduced the camp idea to us, we were in the midst of Covid and the students were they were lonely and they were feeling isolated and not going to school to see their friends and so we as a team at Work Opportunities really wanted a way that
we could bring them together to have our own little we tried doing it a few times we got shut down because we needed it to be one-on-one as that’s how the system was all set up when we started the program but man when we had a couple of few weeks where we got all the kids together and did like a youth job club is what we did so we were still presenting a lot of the ideas that were on the referral but bringing all the youth together you find that some of those youth knew each other from school so they were able to reconnect in a safe place and see each other again and so they were really excited so when camp ended up happening it kind of was perfect timing for us to bring the kids together and have this space where they could learn to be proud of who they were and learned to self-advocate and and present themselves in a very positive way and feel good about it and they were so supportive of each other I think that was my biggest takeaway like it was such a safe place for them to share their feelings and experiences that they’ve had in their life that weren’t always positive and were hard but they had that in common so we’re able to support each other and we saw that every week and some were so open about some of their experiences were good some were bad but they were supported by each other and I think i mean what’s aren’t we all looking for that right support from each other I mean me even at my age as a mom with teenagers I mean i’m looking for support right we’re all looking for acceptance and support and they got that in camp and I think that was my biggest takeaway so we enjoyed it and we look forward to it again too! Thank you.” ~ Jenni Paine, Coordinator
“It was an amazingly positive experience for both us and the campers and it was one of those things that obviously was perfect timing just as far as they’re getting more social interaction from this camp than they had had in the months prior but I think this has already kind of been touched on. Jd mentioned this but this wasn’t just to come and hang out and get social interaction and that’s the value is the social interaction, of course, that was valuable but this was for them so much more than that and it was a time for them to really think about themselves in a way that they never had before and I think to grow their confidence in a way that maybe they never had before. I have one camper in mind in particular that I’ve been working with since camp and he has several times I mean this is a couple of months ago now and he’s still several times he has brought up how valuable of an experience it was and how great it was for his own mental health and just how he views himself, how he views his his skills now and his interests and all these things and what’s also cool is that we’ve been doing our own job club twice a week since then and he’s been part of that and he i’ve noticed has I don’t know if he’s doing this consciously or not but he has been able to share a couple of things that he learned from camp with some of the people in our job club and so he now has that confidence to be able to help others realize certain things about themselves and to view themselves in a more positive way and so this was again so much more than just having people to talk to since we’re in isolation this was something that for a lot of these campers that I think for the years to come. they will benefit from all that was talked about and said so a very very positive experience. Plus I got to meet a superstar!” ~ Jack Graves, Coordinator
“Camp Networx was a great opportunity to bring young adults with disabilities together to share experiences and provide support to each other. To see them excited to see each other and begin to connect about some important issues was key. They opened up and felt comfortable sharing personal stories and providing support to each other in a safe and facilitated environment.” ~ Coordinator
“I learned the importance of connecting young adults and how my role as a mentor is significant to them. I also learned how to help the clients in a way that will impact their life.” ~ Mentor
“The benefits of collaborating with other professionals, learning from the styles of the facilitators, some new techniques of connecting with young adults and more about the power of mentoring.” ~ Coordinator
“I learned that it is very important for all participants to feel heard. They were able to find things in common with others and to create friendships that will last for years to come.” ~ Mentor
“Be patient for others, and allow enough time for everyone to speak, so then everyone gets an equal word in. I’ve also learned that sharing a personal experience of my own, for instance, if I went through bullying, then to share my personal advice to see if it helps the client. I have also learned that to continue to have a set plan, and to go over things more than once.” ~ Mentor
“The box is fantastic! It is a tangible tool to help the youth to share their talents, skills, and abilities. Slack is a great tool for future use. I love the use of the guests and speakers. The facilitators have some great connections that are really connected with the young adults.” ~ Coordinator