Special-needs
campers and
counselors learn
about life while
developing
friendships.

S id e

Clockwise from top:
Counselors Shaina Stewart, 15,
of Oak Park and Julie Schwartz, 20,
of West Bloomfield share a laugh
with camper Lauren Ettinger, 13,
of Farmington Hills.

Special Needs Unit Head
Megan Harris-Linton, 19;
West Bloomfield
JCC Camp Social Worker
Judy Green of Southfield;
JCC Special Needs Director
Nathe Furgang of West Bloomfield;
and Special Needs Unit Head
Robyn Stern, 22, of Waterford.

Counselor Gabriel Gunsberg, 20,
relaxes with Josh Cohen, 11,
both of West Bloomfield,
after a swim in the pool.

SHELLI LIEBMAN DORFMAN
Staff Writer

T

he unusual thing about
camp counselor Julie
Schwartz spending last
Friday afternoon with
13-year-old camper Lauren Ettinger
was that camp had ended the week
before.
"She asked me every day of camp
to come over," Schwartz says. "I went
to her house — because I love her."
Schwartz is one of 25 counselors
who spent this summer developing
one-on-one relationships with
campers in the Special Needs Day
Camp Inclusion Program. It is part
of the Jewish Community Center
of Metropolitan Detroit's JCC

Summer Day Camps.
The program's goal is to include _
campers with special needs in
activities with other campers, says
JCC Special Needs Director
Nancie Furgang. "They are part of
a regular bunk group and follow
the same camp routines as every-
one else," she says.
"We want kids to succeed here.
We want to give them enough sup-
port to empower them, but not too
much that they are dependent."
Schwartz, 20, is a junior studying
social work at Michigan State
University in East Lansing. Though
she had experience baby-sitting chil-
dren with special needs, she says she
showed up at camp "with no clue"
about what to expect.

That's typical. "They come here
without preconceived notions or
expectations," says Furgang of the
counselors, who were each paired
with one of 40 special-needs children
attending over the course of the
camp's two sessions.
A pre-camp workshop provided
staff with exercises in sensitization -
and education, as well as a manual
and an opportunity to ask ques-
tions about supervising special-
needs children.
Before camp started, counselors
also were able to get in touch with
the campers' parents. "I talked to
Lauren's mother about her strengths
and weaknesses — things she
enjoyed — things to make working -
with her easier," Schwartz says.

8/25
2000

43

