Camp ReCreation volunteers keep campers coming back
/ THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER 2012-07-01
ORANGE – They gathered in the chapel and prayed, stood by his hospital bed for days and nights. Carolyn Stark said the volunteers at Camp ReCreation based in Orange, saved her son's life.
Michael Stark, 37, has been attending Camp ReCreation, a weeklong overnight camp for adults with developmental disabilities, for more than a dozen years. While at camp last year he went to the hospital for a fever, was given medicine and sent home with plans to return to camp the next day. Six hours later, he was in cardiac arrest. He spent the next 10 days at the hospital and was never alone. The volunteers, his counselors, his buddies at camp took turns visiting him.
"It's those kids and those prayers that saved him," Carolyn Stark, his mother from Fullerton said. Camp ReCreation, hosted by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange, started its 35th adult camp Sunday. The goal of the program is to give campers a safe, loving environment while also giving caregivers a week of rest. The camp features a one-to-one ratio, with each camper paired with one counselor or volunteer. Cheering, singing and silly costumes are the norm, with this year's theme being "Star Spangled." "You are not here to look cool. Glitter and tights are normal operating procedure," said Adrian Noack, a veteran volunteer from Santa Ana.
Annie Trail from Placentia, 16, has been eagerly waiting to become a volunteer for three years. This year, she will be joining her two sisters, Autumn, 21, who is also a counselor, and April, 24, a camper with Down syndrome. Her parents will be assisting in the kitchens. Autumn Trail has been a counselor for three years and has found the support system to go beyond the weeklong camp. "For me, this camp is a place that accepts my sister," Autumn Trail said. "You are going to be looked at for
what you can do, not what you can't do."
Many campers count down the days to camp each year and the majority return each summer, co-director Meghan Schinderle said. "The volunteers take on some pretty serious challenges," Jim Stark, Michael's father said. "These kids, they just adapt."
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