After opening its doors in 1974, Camp New Hope continues to serve those with developmental disabilities, with the help of college and high school student volunteers, interns and counselors.

On average, two or three Eastern students help the camp each summer, but the distance keeps more from joining, said Kim Carmack, executive director of Camp New Hope for the last four and half years.

Lake Land Community College provides the most student help and local high schools fill in the rest. Teachers, teacher’s aides and bus drivers also lend a hand once school is out.

Many students use their time at the camp to count towards hours needed for a degree, such as teaching, said Carmack. Only a few paid and unpaid internships are available each summer, but several volunteer opportunities exist all summer long. Some of these are “friend for the day,” a “family fun fishing event,” and entertainment, such as, face painting, music, dances and puppet shows.

Abbie Clapp, senior special education and early childhood special education major, will join the camp staff for a second summer. She was also a respite counselor, which is in the fall, winter and spring.

This summer she is changing her role as a counselor from “Mom”, a night position that helps campers take showers and brush their teeth and help them get up in the morning, etc., to “Friend.” She will be with campers throughout the day and take care of any minor things like dressing and eating.

Clapp’s time at Camp New Hope is for the enjoyment and experience now that she has all her outside hours for her degree.

Clapp said that working at Camp New Hope for a few days over the summer should be required of certain majors.

“However,” Clapp said, “because of camp rules if you are a volunteer you really don’t do anything but watch, but I love working out there and it definitely has gotten me ready for teaching.”

Volunteers and parents of developmentally disabled children built Camp New Hope on the shore of Lake Mattoon, about 13 miles south of Mattoon and three miles north of Neoga.

It is a non-profit organization founded by families of people who have developmental disabilities, with the support of Illini Lodge 17 of the Fraternal Order of Police and Illinois Jaycees.

The camp serves people from Chicago to St. Louis, with the bulk coming from Coles, Cumberland, Douglas and Shelby counties. Age ranges from 9 years old to “No age is too old.”

Two kinds of camps are offered: respite and summer. The respite program, a weekend mini-session offered in the fall, winter and spring, is a short getaway designed to give parents and families a break and allows campers to have fun and grow, said Carmack.

A house was built specifically for this program, so that individuals could come to the facility instead of respite workers visiting their homes.

The summer camp is 9 weeks long and campers attend for a week. Day camps are also offered for those not ready to stay overnight.

Nearly 360 people will attend camp this summer, said Carmack. The first day of weekly camp is Sunday, June 4, and day camp begins July 3.

The camp can accommodate nearly all disabilities, except those who need full-time nursing care. One week out of the summer Camp New Hope employs a registered nurse to handle injections or tube feeding. If a person can attend a day care or school, Camp New Hope can accommodate.

Several activities are provided for the campers that they might not be able to enjoy otherwise, including: fishing, rides on a pontoon boat, a 3-foot deep pool, music, a playground, nature education, arts and crafts, “train” rides, and tournaments in games like mini-golf where they can earn trophies.

Bowling leagues are held in Charleston and Mattoon during the school year.

A favorite among campers is the Camp New Hope train, a small tractor that is painted to look like a train with several “cars” attached, said Carmack.

The train follows a 2.5mile loop that carries campers over asphalt trails through the woods and near the lake.

“We adapt the programs to meet the needs of the individual. They don’t have to fit our programs,” said Don McDowell, first director of Camp New Hope.