Camp ASCCA Blog

Last weekend, there was an energy throughout Camp ASCCA that could be described as nothing short of spooktacular. On Friday afternoon, campers arrived for the annual ASCCA Fall Family Weekend, and several families were also in attendance with their campers. According to the local weather station, the weekend was expected to be a chilly one with a Saturday morning of rain. It definitely ended up being unusually cold for an October weekend, but campers were reminded to bring a warm set of clothes so that there was nothing keeping them from having the time of their lives.

Today, fourth grade students from Auburn’s Yarbrough Elementary School traveled to Camp for a fun, exciting day out of the classroom. The students were presented with opportunities of fun, teachable moments, and challenges when it comes to working as a team. The schedule included activities at the cargo net, canoeing, group elements, nature, and the bungee trampoline. Once they arrived, the students were split into groups with their teachers and were led to their first activity of the day by an ASCCA staff member.

Fall officially arrived on Friday, and now it’s time to kick back, cool off, and enjoy a warm drink with your favorite newsletter in hand. The fall issue of the Camp ASCCA Good Times newsletter is now available, and it is full of summer flashbacks and news about upcoming events. This particular newsletter includes everything you will want to know from this past summer and includes a calendar of upcoming events, family quotes, how to get involved with the 3rd annual Jingle Jump, and much more!

On Thursday, participants for this year’s Lakeshore Operation Rise & Conquer arrived at Camp ASCCA for a weekend of adaptive sports and recreation activities. Operation Rise & Conquer is a part of Lakeshore’s Lima Foxtrot program that serves injured servicemen and women. According to lakeshore.org, “Qualifying injuries include but are not limited to spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, vision impairments, amputations, burns and/or disfigurements.” At Operation Rise & Conquer, participants are offered the opportunity to do adaptive activities that they may not have done since their injury or may have never done before.

Camp ASCCA was recently invited to visit Buster Miles Chevrolet to receive a special donation towards the ASCCA Campership Fund. Today, Director of Marketing and Communications Dana Rickman made the trip and spent time with members of the Buster Miles staff and The Heart of Dixie Chevelle Club. Dana was also joined by an ASCCA camper, Shaun Thompson, whose father is a member of The Heart of Dixie Chevelle Club. Each year, the club holds a car show in the Buster Miles lot, and a portion of the proceeds are given to Camp ASCCA each year.

On Friday, families arrived for the Autism Society of Alabama’s Camp Frog event. Each year, the organization offers a weekend for “children on the autism spectrum to enjoy traditional camp activities in a supportive environment with their families.” The event is held each year at Camp ASCCA, and the ASCCA staff designs each activity to be sensory-friendly for the campers and their families. There were many familiar faces in attendance this year as well as a few new families who have been looking for something to fit their needs.

Today, we were joined by students from across Tallapoosa County who are participating in this year’s Junior Leadership Lake Martin class program. Each year in the fall, a new group of juniors from local schools visit Camp ASCCA for a day of teambuilding and an opportunity to get to know their fellow junior leaders. The participants are from Dadeville High School, Reeltown High School, Horseshoe Bend High School, and Benjamin Russell High School.

This morning, sixth grade students from Drake Middle School arrived at Camp ASCCA for the final day of the school’s field trips. Last week’s weather from Hurricane Irma moved this scheduled visit from last Tuesday to today, and the students could not wait to jump into the activities. The day was set to mirror the other field trips, and students rotate through several ASCCA programs like canoeing, zip-lining, riding the waterslide, and much more. However, they first had to meet up with the ASCCA staff to be divided into groups and acquainted with their chaperones for the day.

As the weather warmed back up today, the ASCCA staff prepared for another day of activities with sixth grade students from Auburn’s Drake Middle School. The students arrived with great energy and determination to get the day started. Once they reached the gym, everyone was split into their specific groups and headed out to their first program rotations of the day.

This week has involved a lot less class time than these sixth-grade students from Drake Middle School expected. The rough weather brought on by Hurricane Irma led to Auburn City Schools closing Monday and Tuesday, and today, we have one group of students who are excited to stay out of the classroom for an extra day. A group was scheduled to visit Camp yesterday, but due to school cancellations, that will be rescheduled for a later date.

Over the weekend, the Alabama Recreation and Parks Association brought individuals from around the state for a weekend of therapeutic recreation. Groups began arriving to check-in at 4:00 p.m. on Friday afternoon, and campers immediately began reuniting with their friends that some have not seen since last year’s ARPA Camporee. Outdoor Education Director Cody Graham invited everyone in and presented them with a schedule showing a weekend full of events and that the dance was later that evening.

Today, on the second day of Drake Middle School field trips, the students, teachers, and parents arrived with an electric energy and motivation to make today the best day of the new school year. The students were split into six groups and participated in several ASCCA programs. Identical to day one, today’s schedule involved activities like swimming at the pool, sliding down the waterslide, riding the zip line, canoeing around Lake Martin, team building at group elements, and kickball at the ballfield.