Camp Sunshine Director Becky Morgan told Kiwanis Club of Pike County members on Monday the camp will be as bright as ever this year as it continues to serve physically and mentally handicapped children and adults.
The camp runs every July at Percy Quin State Park and is an excellent time to view the many talents of the campers, who are mostly from Pike County, said Morgan, who’s been leading the camp since 1978.
“These campers are so capable. It’s amazing what they can do,” Morgan said.
She said organizing the camp is a community effort of the Junior Auxiliary of McComb and various businesses and organizations.
Morgan, the principal at Otken Elementary and a former special education teacher, said campers get the full “Kum By Ya” camping experience through arts and crafts, swimming, singing and dancing.
The camp is five days and four nights, and for many campers it’s one of their few away-from-home-and-family experiences. Morgan said many of the campers require a lot attention from their parents, and it’s important for them to have a break from each other — just like any other family.
Before the camp started in 1976, things like it were largely unavailable, and they still are to some degree, she said.
Morgan said she only knows of a few other similar camps in the area.
Campers especially take to the entertainment portion, when camp leaders turn the stage and the microphone over to the campers, Morgan said.
“Elvis came once,” said Morgan referring to camper regular David Stewart, who performed as the rock ’n’ roll icon.
“At night we entertain ourselves royally,” Morgan added.
In the 1970s, children with disabilities were often excluded from a regular school setting and were left to be schooled near the home or at institutions, Morgan said.
In 1974 she was a part of an initiative to give disabled students more inclusion in schools, but after that was developed she and others found that the students still lacked recreational opportunities.
Camp Sunshine was formed not long after that.
The camp has evolved with each year, and new this year is a rodeo.
Morgan said campers will travel to the Pike County Fairgrounds for a rodeo experience.
Although campers won’t be doing any steer wrestling or bull riding, there will be plenty of opportunities for riding horses and interacting with livestock, she said.
The camp accepts any individual, regardless of age, with a disability, including those with Down Syndrome, cerebral palsy and other disabilities.
After 31 years, the camp is in high demand, with waiting lists for both campers and camp counselors, Morgan said.
In 1976, the camp started with 15 campers and five counselors. Now it has 80 campers and about 110 counselors. This year she said it had 165 applicants for camp counselors.
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For more information, e-mail Morgan at rdm504@yahoo.com.
