HelloKit
05-11-2003, 01:31 AM
Has anyone ever attended the MDA camp in Canton, MA?
I was a camper at the Oregon camp for ten years before moving to Rhode Island. They were some of the best times of my life, and recently I've been thinking I might like to begin volunteering at the camp here. When I called the local MDA office for some information, they told me the camp is held at a "hospital school" in Canton, MA, and that all volunteers and staff are coordinated through them.
I have to say this left sort of a bad taste in my mouth. I can't imagine there being much of a "camp" atmosphere in a hospital-type environment, and I always thought the point of MDA's camps was to give kids a chance NOT to feel like a medical case. The camp in Oregon was held at an actual campground; we slept in cabins, and sang and told stories around a nightly campfire. Even for the campers who required extensive medical care, they always made it work. And they always recruited their own volunteers, many of whom were friends or relatives of past or present campers.
I also got the vibe, though it was never actually said, that this hospital might not be interested in having a former camper (i.e. less able-bodied) as a volunteer. At the camp I attended campers were encouraged to come back as volunteers. Even the ones who could not care for another camper directly, always had something to offer, and the local MDA staff welcomed any help they could get.
So is there anyone who has attended this camp in Canton? Can you tell me it's really not as bad as I imagine it, or perhaps that it is exactly what I am picturing?
I was a camper at the Oregon camp for ten years before moving to Rhode Island. They were some of the best times of my life, and recently I've been thinking I might like to begin volunteering at the camp here. When I called the local MDA office for some information, they told me the camp is held at a "hospital school" in Canton, MA, and that all volunteers and staff are coordinated through them.
I have to say this left sort of a bad taste in my mouth. I can't imagine there being much of a "camp" atmosphere in a hospital-type environment, and I always thought the point of MDA's camps was to give kids a chance NOT to feel like a medical case. The camp in Oregon was held at an actual campground; we slept in cabins, and sang and told stories around a nightly campfire. Even for the campers who required extensive medical care, they always made it work. And they always recruited their own volunteers, many of whom were friends or relatives of past or present campers.
I also got the vibe, though it was never actually said, that this hospital might not be interested in having a former camper (i.e. less able-bodied) as a volunteer. At the camp I attended campers were encouraged to come back as volunteers. Even the ones who could not care for another camper directly, always had something to offer, and the local MDA staff welcomed any help they could get.
So is there anyone who has attended this camp in Canton? Can you tell me it's really not as bad as I imagine it, or perhaps that it is exactly what I am picturing?
Sponsor