About 100 physically disabled youths will have the chance to go to a free, week-long summer camp sponsored by the North Central Kiwanis club. The Kiwanis have sponsored Camp Casey, at Fort Casey on Whidbey Island, for the last 70 years.
The club is having a spaghetti dinner and silent auction fund-raiser on Sunday, May 22, to raise money for this annual sponsorship of Kiwanis Camp Casey and to celebrate the Kiwanis club's 75th year of service. The fund-raiser is open to the public and will take place at Calvary Lutheran Church, 7002 23rd N.W., in Loyal Heights, beginning at 4 p.m.
A valuable experience
Camp Casey is summer camp for physically disabled youths age 6 to 17, and takes place this year from July 31 to Aug. 6. The North Central Kiwanis club sponsors the camp, which takes approximately $40,000 to run, and helps staff the camp with volunteers.
Camp Casey director and Kiwanis club member Denise Allan, 36, explained that the camp is staffed with 50 to 60 counselors and five to seven nurses, and nearly all 45 members of the North Central Kiwanis chapter. Kiwanis club members help cook, do laundry, set up the camp, aid counselors and buy arts and crafts supplies.
She said the camp is an extremely valuable experience for all involved. "We've had counselors who have had such a life-changing experience at camp that they've gone into social work, special education and physical therapy as a result," she said.
Allen also said the experience was positive for the kids: "The campers feel like they're no longer the different one, because everyone at camp is physically disabled. It's their week to be 'normal.'"
Campers have varying degrees of physical disability, and many require the use of wheelchairs, crutches or braces. They participate in such camp activities as a talent show, a carnival, swimming, horseback riding and arts and crafts.
Allan has been the camp director for four years, and a Kiwanis member for six. She said she cherished her time as a Camp Casey counselor in the late '80s and wanted to help keep the camp running.
"My husband and I saw that the Kiwanis group was aging, and it was so important to us that this camp continue. Most of the 45 members in the North Central chapter are in their 70s," she said.
Serving the children
Kiwanis is a global volunteer organization dedicated to serving the children of the world through community service and outreach.
The first Kiwanis club started in Detroit, Mich., in 1915. The organization spread nationwide soon after and expanded internationally in 1962. According to the Kiwanis website, there are more than 8,500 Kiwanis clubs and nearly 300,000 members in 96 nations and geographic areas.
Kiwanis sponsor organizations such as Circle K International, Key Club International and Builders Clubs.
The North Central chapter was chartered in 1930 and has a dedicated group of about 45 members. The North Central Kiwanis club's coverage spans from north of the University District to Shoreline, and it meets every Thursday at noon at the Greenwood Senior Center.
The chapter just sponsored a Circle K club with Seattle Central Community College and helped found the Boyer Children's Clinic. They also hold eyeglass drives and clothing drives and make Christmas baskets for the needy.
Bill Briggs, a North Central Kiwanis member for 43 years, said Camp Casey is by far the biggest project of the year and requires the most manpower.
"We work on the camp every day of the year," Briggs said. "You can't really capture the camp in words - you have to be there to experience in it."
Briggs has worked at Camp Casey every summer for 40 years. He expects the May 22 auction to raise about $3,000 and a much larger auction in November to earn the rest.
Briggs recommends the Kiwanis club for anyone looking to do service work.
"The club started out originally being for professional people, but now we're looking for people who want to help other people. Our main focus is on children," he explained.
For more information on Camp Casey go on-line to www.campcasey.org.
For more information on Kiwanis International, visit www.kiwanis.org.
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