Volunteers Bring Joy to Ill Campers
Unable
to participate in the College's winter break service trips in February
did not stop 10 Alma College students from volunteering. They made an
Alternative Summer Break trip to Camp Boggy Creek in Eustis, Fla., a
huge success.
When the annual softball trip to Florida prevented her from joining other students on winter break Julie Lee, a senior from Fruitport, began planning a trip for students wanting to volunteer in the summer. The students and one Alma administrator teamed up with the camp’s full-time staff and summer counselors in June to provide children with chronic or life threatening illnesses the time of their lives.
Alma students lived with campers ages seven to 16 years old afflicted with life-threatening or painful diseases, such as hemophilia or juvenile arthritis. Despite illnesses, the majority of the campers participated in specially designed recreational and craft activities during their weeklong stay. All Alma students said that they had a wonderful time serving the children and many plan on volunteering at Camp Boggy Creek in the future.
"This trip was truly amazing for me," said Janie Pudvan '07 of Gaylord. "I came down believing that I would be making a difference in the lives of the Camp Boggy Creek kids, but they taught me more than I taught them. My campers were strong people who have been through so much in their lives. They have inspired me to look through the hard times in my life and to remember my experiences. I want to strive to be more like those kids."
Those that participated included Megan Coffin '07 of Ithaca, Tom Czolgosz '06 of Saginaw, Lauren Dart '05 of Galesburg, Amy Hyder '06 of Oxford, Lee, Pam McClintic '07 of Mt. Pleasant, Kathy Miller '08 of Sault Ste. Marie, Robin O'Neill '07 of Harbor Springs, Pudvan, Garrett Whitmore '06 of Alma, and advisor Sallie Scheide, assistant director of Discovering Vocation: The Lilly Project at Alma College.
Boggy Creek in a non-profit organization that was co-founded in 1997 by actor Paul Newman patterned after Newman’s original Hole in the Wall Gang Camp in Ashford, Connecticut. Contributions from individuals, healthcare partnerships, foundations, and corporations allow children with serious illnesses to attend the camp at no cost.
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Posted: Mon, July 11th, 2005 at 1:22PM
