I want to mention right now that even though we have the word camp
in our name we are not sleeping out in tents. So, I guess you could call
it luxury camping. The accommodations we strive to get for the campers
are handicap accessible and are what you'd expect from a motel room.
Some camps have cabins, some are in lodges, and some have even been in
hotels. Each survivor/caregiver couple has their own private room with a
bathroom. We even carry some equipment such as grab bars and toilet
seat boosters, if needed, to make rooms more handicap friendly. We also
carry an extra wheel chair in case one of those is needed. When you make
reservations from home with us we provide a form where you can list
any other special needs and we will make sure they are taken care of.
And in those cases where the rooms are not adjoining the activity areas, we provide transportation via golf carts to get you to and from the fun.
For the campers, the camps usually run from 2pm Friday to noon Sunday. On a couple of occasions we have had a four day camp, but that’s not very common.
Of course, before the campers begin arriving on site, the staff
and volunteers must arrive much earlier for orientation and to set up decorations and banners, signs pointing to the camp, the
registration table, tables for all the activities and crafts, set up instruments for the
drum circle, and make sure all the sleeping accommodations and assignments are
in proper order and the weekend’s meals are scheduled as planned.
Some volunteers are involved even earlier than that because back at base, in Peoria, Illinois, activity event personnel such as the manicurists, massage therapists, and educational speakers such as doctors and other experts have to be lined up, the craft supplies have to be replenished after the previous camp, the camp van has to be loaded at least a day in advance (and this is a miracle in and of itself to pack three days of camp items in one van), then the van has to be driven to the camp site.
Remember
we are
headquartered in Peoria, so when we have a camp in Miami or Phoenix, for
instance, someone has to drive the van to that location, plus a few
local, experienced staff members assigned to coordinate the camp
on-site, have to make travel arrangements to the camp destination. We’ve
even had
situations where the van must be packed for two camps. Case in point, the van needed to be packed and driven to Odessa, Texas for a camp there
and
then driven on to Phoenix for a camp there the following weekend. We’ve
also had two camps going on
the same weekend. So you can begin to appreciate our future challenges as we are planning 25 camps a year.
And in those cases where the rooms are not adjoining the activity areas, we provide transportation via golf carts to get you to and from the fun.
For the campers, the camps usually run from 2pm Friday to noon Sunday. On a couple of occasions we have had a four day camp, but that’s not very common.
Of course, before the campers begin arriving on site, the staff
and volunteers must arrive much earlier for orientation and to set up decorations and banners, signs pointing to the camp, the
registration table, tables for all the activities and crafts, set up instruments for the
drum circle, and make sure all the sleeping accommodations and assignments are
in proper order and the weekend’s meals are scheduled as planned.
Some volunteers are involved even earlier than that because back at base, in Peoria, Illinois, activity event personnel such as the manicurists, massage therapists, and educational speakers such as doctors and other experts have to be lined up, the craft supplies have to be replenished after the previous camp, the camp van has to be loaded at least a day in advance (and this is a miracle in and of itself to pack three days of camp items in one van), then the van has to be driven to the camp site.
Remember
we are
headquartered in Peoria, so when we have a camp in Miami or Phoenix, for
instance, someone has to drive the van to that location, plus a few
local, experienced staff members assigned to coordinate the camp
on-site, have to make travel arrangements to the camp destination. We’ve
even had
situations where the van must be packed for two camps. Case in point, the van needed to be packed and driven to Odessa, Texas for a camp there
and
then driven on to Phoenix for a camp there the following weekend. We’ve
also had two camps going on
the same weekend. So you can begin to appreciate our future challenges as we are planning 25 camps a year. *********************************************************************************