SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO : Special Kids Are Happy Campers

When Terri and Brad Green’s oldest child, Kara, was born eight years ago with cerebral palsy, doctors told the Laguna Hills couple that if she managed to survive, she would probably be left in a vegetative state.

But on Friday, Kara, surrounded by cheering friends, pushed a bowling ball from a special ramp near her wheelchair and watched as it rolled down the lane to hit several pins. For Kara and her new friends, the afternoon bowling match was a striking end to a week’s worth of summer camp activities organized by the Rev. Mike Wallens and many of his students at St. Margaret’s Episcopal School in San Juan Capistrano.

“We never thought she would be involved in something like this,” said Terri Green. “It’s really exciting.”

Parents of the campers and the teen-age volunteer counselors say Wallens has created a summer day camp that lives up to its name: “Special Camp for Special Kids.” There is no other camp like it in South County.

“The greatest part about this camp is the energy and the enthusiasm of the young counselors,” Terri Green said. “It’s one-on-one counseling. (The kids) are never alone and never without someone paying attention to them. We’ve all become good friends.”

Worried about cutbacks in local schools and other agencies, Wallens said he started organizing the camp earlier this year, bringing together parents of handicapped children and other experts to design a program. The volunteer counselors went through a weeklong training session.

“I just felt there was a need here for something like this,” said Wallens, who has been chaplain at the school for a year. “There are a lot of firsts going on for both campers and counselors. What’s exciting for me is watching people grow daily.”

Since the weeklong camp sessions started earlier this month, more than 20 campers, who have varying degrees of physical and mental handicaps, have participated in activities which they rarely, if ever, get to do.

Recently, the campers visited a local farm and took a hayride, attended the Orange County Fair and spent a day at Knott’s Berry Farm. There were also trips to the beach, boat rides at Dana Point Harbor, horseback riding and an afternoon of challenge on a ropes course.

Campers and volunteers are asked to pay a $50 fee for the week, although no person will be turned down who cannot pay, Wallens said.

“I really like this camp,” said 15-year-old Jeremy Mandel of Laguna Hills. “It’s fun. All the activities are fun.”

“And I like this guy here,” he said, turning to hug his counselor buddy, Ryan Newman.

For their part, the counselors say they’ve probably had just as much fun as the campers.

“It really makes me happy to see them happy,” said Stacey Stone, a 13-year-old student at St. Margaret’s. “They’re really not that much different. They feel the same things we do.”