thedrifter
08-13-08, 07:56 AM
Marines show a tender side
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Local troops volunteer with MDA kids camp
August 13, 2008 - 12:40AM
JENNIFER HLAD
For the 30 children with neuromuscular diseases, the week at camp is time to just be kids. For the Camp Lejeune Marines who volunteered to help, it is a learning experience.
About 10 Marines from Military Police Company, Headquarters Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, spent last week at Camp Carefree in Stokesdale, serving as volunteer camp counselors at a Muscular Dystrophy Association camp for children from Eastern North Carolina.
Pfc. John Kinsey Kuhn said he volunteered because he has a friend with muscular dystrophy and knows children with the disease are not always treated like other children. The camp is a chance for the kids to get away from their parents and "have as much fun as possible," he said.
"They can have fun without being babied," he said. "They just want to be treated like kids."
The camp serves children 6 through 17 years old who have neuromuscular diseases covered under the Muscular Dystrophy Association umbrella, said Amy Pollock, a camp director out of the MDA's Wilmington district office.
The campers participate in a variety of activities, including arts and crafts, wheelchair hockey, karaoke night, prom night, fishing and horseback riding, Pollock said.
"It's just such a great opportunity to meet other kids like themselves and to have the chance to participate in activities that they perhaps don't get to participate in at other times of the year," Pollock said. "It's a great self-confidence, self-esteem building experience for these kids."
Each child is assigned his or her own counselor, so volunteers are crucial, Pollock said. The counselors help the campers participate in the activities - sometimes serving as the legs and arms for those in wheelchairs - as well as help them shower, dress and perform other activities, if necessary.
Serving as a counselor can be tough, Pollock said, but the Marines did well.
"You see the tender side of these Marines," she said. "It is actually quite heartwarming. ... I'm always moved by what I've seen the Marines do at camp."
Lance Cpl. David Alix served as a counselor for a camper in a wheelchair.
"I had to do a lot of stuff for him, but at the same time, he had to teach me, because I had never done it," Alix said. "They were really patient."
The counselors build close relationships with their campers quickly, Alix said, because they spend so much time together.
"Everyone became really good friends while we were up there," he said. "I think all the Marines who went said they would like to go back next year if they can."
Lance Cpl. David Cutt was not a counselor for an individual camper, instead helping the camp staff set up for various events and serving as an additional counselor when necessary.
"It's something I had no knowledge of beforehand," he said. "I didn't realize some of the hardships that they had to go through."
The camp helps the children become more confident, and allows them to participate in activities without worrying about being made fun of, Cutt said.
And each activity - as well as the camp itself - is designed with them in mind, Pollock said.
"We open doors for them at camp," she said.
For more information about the Muscular Dystrophy Association, call 910-791-8585 or e-mail Pollock at apollock@mdausa.org.
Contact interactive content editor Jennifer Hlad at 910-219-8467. Visit www.jdnews.com to comment on this report.
Ellie
Comments 0 | Recommend 0
Local troops volunteer with MDA kids camp
August 13, 2008 - 12:40AM
JENNIFER HLAD
For the 30 children with neuromuscular diseases, the week at camp is time to just be kids. For the Camp Lejeune Marines who volunteered to help, it is a learning experience.
About 10 Marines from Military Police Company, Headquarters Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, spent last week at Camp Carefree in Stokesdale, serving as volunteer camp counselors at a Muscular Dystrophy Association camp for children from Eastern North Carolina.
Pfc. John Kinsey Kuhn said he volunteered because he has a friend with muscular dystrophy and knows children with the disease are not always treated like other children. The camp is a chance for the kids to get away from their parents and "have as much fun as possible," he said.
"They can have fun without being babied," he said. "They just want to be treated like kids."
The camp serves children 6 through 17 years old who have neuromuscular diseases covered under the Muscular Dystrophy Association umbrella, said Amy Pollock, a camp director out of the MDA's Wilmington district office.
The campers participate in a variety of activities, including arts and crafts, wheelchair hockey, karaoke night, prom night, fishing and horseback riding, Pollock said.
"It's just such a great opportunity to meet other kids like themselves and to have the chance to participate in activities that they perhaps don't get to participate in at other times of the year," Pollock said. "It's a great self-confidence, self-esteem building experience for these kids."
Each child is assigned his or her own counselor, so volunteers are crucial, Pollock said. The counselors help the campers participate in the activities - sometimes serving as the legs and arms for those in wheelchairs - as well as help them shower, dress and perform other activities, if necessary.
Serving as a counselor can be tough, Pollock said, but the Marines did well.
"You see the tender side of these Marines," she said. "It is actually quite heartwarming. ... I'm always moved by what I've seen the Marines do at camp."
Lance Cpl. David Alix served as a counselor for a camper in a wheelchair.
"I had to do a lot of stuff for him, but at the same time, he had to teach me, because I had never done it," Alix said. "They were really patient."
The counselors build close relationships with their campers quickly, Alix said, because they spend so much time together.
"Everyone became really good friends while we were up there," he said. "I think all the Marines who went said they would like to go back next year if they can."
Lance Cpl. David Cutt was not a counselor for an individual camper, instead helping the camp staff set up for various events and serving as an additional counselor when necessary.
"It's something I had no knowledge of beforehand," he said. "I didn't realize some of the hardships that they had to go through."
The camp helps the children become more confident, and allows them to participate in activities without worrying about being made fun of, Cutt said.
And each activity - as well as the camp itself - is designed with them in mind, Pollock said.
"We open doors for them at camp," she said.
For more information about the Muscular Dystrophy Association, call 910-791-8585 or e-mail Pollock at apollock@mdausa.org.
Contact interactive content editor Jennifer Hlad at 910-219-8467. Visit www.jdnews.com to comment on this report.
Ellie