We are very excited to kick off the camp season! Chicago, Rockford and Denver campers and volunteers, if you haven't signed up for camp, please do so soon!
What a way to start the 2012 camp year! We had a great time at Camp Courageous in Monticello, IA, April 20-22, thanks to our incredible sponsors University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, St. Luke's Hospital and Mercy Medical Center. Here's our official camp photo. Looking good everybody! Camp photos will be posted shortly on the photo gallery section of our website www.strokecamp.org Enjoy!
Our first camp of the season was at Camp Courageous in Eastern Iowa, April 20-22. Attendance was around 48 campers, including volunteers. The report I got was that it was a great success. This camp had a rock wall for climbing and a warm water pool for that low impact aerobics and general floating around. The theme for this year for all the camps is Cruisin to Stroke Camp, with all the fun things that happen on a cruise, complete with costumes, Captain's Dinner (served by a real chef, Chef Dennis), Stroke Camp Casino, Karaoke, balloon animals and even a stand-up comedian (unlucky volunteer in the wrong place at the wrong time?). This camp was sponsored by St. Lukes Hospital, Cedar Rapids, Mercy Medical Center, Cedar Rapids and University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics. THANK YOU Cedar Rapids!
The van was back at the "warehouse" in Peoria for unloading last Tuesday after the Iowa camp. Did you notice the quote marks around warehouse? That's because Marylee's mother, whom we all affectionately call Granny, has been letting us use her garage to store all our camp items. And they fill her garage to the brim. Someday, she'll want her garage back, I imagine. THANK YOU Granny! You are so patient with us, and we love you very much!
One of our volunteers, Monica Vest Wheeler brought a set of very sturdy yet lightweight aluminum ramps we will be able to use for loading and unloading large containers into the camp van. THANK YOU Monica! We tested it out last Monday on a large, heavy container and saw that it will, indeed, save a few backs this season.
Please be sure to listen to Larry Schaer and Marylee Nunley on the "In The Neighborhood" radio show. It is a radio show that they were on a few months ago, but you can access the recording through the following link. Check it out! http://www.peoriaarea.com/rr-stroke-camp.htmlYou'll have to endure a short commercial at the beginning but the interview is well worth the wait. This is an excellent interview and well worth the listen.
We have another addition to our internet presence now. A new web site for our chimes Choir that is still in its infancy, so check it out from time to time for updates. Go to: chimestrokers.org.
What else do we have and coming up soon? Our next camp will be in Elmhurst, IL, June 22-24 at the Elmhurst College dorms, sponsored by the Alexian Brothers Health System. And on this same weekend we also have a Rockford camp going on in Oregon, Ill. at the Lutheran Outdoor Ministry Center. It is being sponsored by OSF St. Anthony Medical Center, Swedish American Hospital, Rockford Health Systems, and Van Matre Healthsouth Rehab Hospital.
The next scheduled ELSIE and her Megabrain exhibit will be at the Arizona Diamondbacks game in Phoenix, May 26th. I originally thought we were going to have more MegaBrain exhibits at ball diamonds this year but it turns out some that I thought were going to be MegaBrains were "Strike Out Stroke" theme only. Keep up to date on ELSIE and her Mega Brain exhibits by following the "Calendar of Events" link at the left of your screen.
That's it til next week. Be safe and remember stroke survivors never quit!
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