Albany ARC opens enrollment for summer camp for kids with special needs

ALBANY — Albany ARC has announced a new pilot program, Camp ARC, in which approximately 30 elementary and middle school aged students with mild to moderate developmental disabilities can be enrolled in a summer camp.

Scheduled to run June 5-July 28, Camp ARC is designed to meet the growing community need for extracurricular services for special-needs students. According to Georgia Department of Education, nearly 3,000 students with disabilities are enrolled in Dougherty County and six bordering counties’ public schools.

“There is nowhere in Albany equipped to handle the special-needs community for the summer. I have so many parents contacting me asking where they can send their children while they work, and before now I didn’t have a good answer for them. The need for this camp is undeniable,” said Jennifer Sapp, the executive director of the Challenger League.

The camp’s focus will be skills training, social integration, and fun, engaging activities — just like other summer camps. Students with existing occupational, physical and speech therapy services will have streamlined access to continuing care at Albany ARC’s Kids’ Corner location on Stuart Avenue, which will serve as the camp’s nerve center.

The cost of the camp is $125 per week for one student, $225 for two students and $50 per week for extended care hours. Tuition includes frequent field trips and visits to the YMCA sports park for swimming and other summertime games and activities

“We are limiting enrollment to 30 kids because it is a pilot program and we want to get it up and running before taking on more than that,” ARC Director of Public Relations Eddie McCarty said. “This really started in response to requests from parents for a summer camp for children with disabilities.

“There is not another program like this in the area, but we know there is a definite demand for summer activities like we’ll have at Camp ARC.”

Sapp agrees.

“We have many parents who don’t feel comfortable in the day cares they are in now simply because no one there is trained to handle an autistic child or a child with differing abilities,” she said. “The biggest key to a successful program when involving special-needs children is having a trained and passionate staff. You have to assure the parents that their child is important and cared for.

“Often times, we, as special-needs parents, feel like our kids are a burden to others, so we simply retreat to our safe place and do not expose them to the world. I am thrilled ARC has opened the pathway to giving our children and parents a place to feel loved and safe during the summer.”

Parents who wish to enroll their children, or need more information, should contact DeAnna Julian at (229) 869-0610 or email her at [email protected].