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Reed Helps Create Fatimagic

Westfield High graduate spends a week at sleepaway camp, volunteering with children with disabilities.

Holly Reed, a 2006 graduate of Westfield High School, spent a week this summer caring for an autistic child who she had never met. She was woken every morning by a group of cheerful men yelling through bullhorns at 7 a.m. From there, she and Nicholas trekked down a long hill to the mess hall, where they joined more than 200 fellow volunteers and campers in a teeny-bop dance party. Days full of activities lasted past 9 p.m., only to start again bright and early the next day.

Doesn't sound like your typical summer vacation? That's because it's not. Not at all.

Reed was at Camp Fatima of NJ, the only one-to-one all-volunteer camp for children with disabilities in the state. The camp is completely free for campers. More than 300 volunteers, split between two weeks of camp, return to camp year after year to create what they call "Fatimagic."

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"It's a place where volunteers provide a week of activity that any child would experience at summer camp," says 2010 Week One Director Tim Dolan. "We believe that all children have the right to experience play in their lives regardless of their physical or mental condition."

Each camper is matched with a counselor, many of whom are still in their teens and others who are certified special education teachers or nurses. Regardless of their background, everyone at Fatima is there to create a magical world where disabilities are not the focus.

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There are two weeklong summer sessions for children and four adult weekends for campers that have aged out of the summer program. All are completely free for campers. Volunteers are only permitted to attend one of the summer sessions, as exhaustion normally sets in by the end of the week.

The campers have a full range of neurological, physical and emotional disabilities. The 114-acre campsite, complete with cabins, outhouses, a mess hall and plenty of rolling hills, the location doesn't cater to special needs. It gives everyone, regardless of their physical condition, a true camping experience.

Reed was introduced to camp by Ellen Muir, a teacher at Westfield High School. Muir recommended that Reed's older sister – who has special needs – attend as a camper.

"That's the reason that I came," says Reed, "my mom wanted me to come to make sure it was legit."

She found that Camp Fatima was more than legit, as it quickly became one of her favorite places.

"Having a special needs sister, I like that when you come to camp, nobody is made fun of, nobody sees disabilities. It's a place where people can come if they want to have a lot of fun but also do something that's really good."

No one, including Dolan, receives a salary or any monetary compensation for working with Camp Fatima. The volunteers come from across the state, from a variety of backgrounds.

"It's diverse. There are people of all ethnicities, different socio-economic backgrounds, CFOs of Fortune 500 companies, cops, professionals, teachers, teenagers, but none of that matters," says longtime volunteer Jamie Denman. "It just matters what you bring as much effort and energy for those campers as possible. That's the common bond. It's very much like a second family."

Once they step on the campsite, differences that might matter in the real world are forgotten. It's time to create Fatimagic.

The most magical time of the day is possibly the scene after meals. Everyone breaks out in song, and popular music blares through the speakers. Within minutes of the music starting, most campers are standing on chairs at the front of the room, leading the party. The singing is often so loud it can be heard all over the campsite.

Describing the scene, counselor Teresa Denman says, "It is as hot as a sauna, people's t-shirts are soaked with sweat, their hands are sore from clapping and banging on tables, voices are fading from singing and screaming 'We are Fatima' – but everyone is so happy. It's fabulous."

A similar scene breaks out after dinner, when dance parties wear on longer and longer as the end of the week approaches. The in-between hours are spent splashing down inflated water-slides or in the pool; coloring and painting at arts and crafts; rolling around in shaving crème or swinging on a platform swing in the sense room and creating songs on the many instruments. A daily play follows the yearly theme – this year's was Scooby Doo – and there is a nightly activity. Wednesday night featured a visit from the local fire department and a professional fireworks display.

In years past, each day had a holiday theme. This year, the campers traveled to a different "country" each day, with the campsite decorated to match the destination. Monday they woke up in Mexico; Tuesday they took a safari in South Africa; Wednesday they met President Obama at a lakeside BBQ. On Thursday, everyone was ready for the Moulin Rouge talent show, the highlight of the week for many. Friday wrapped up with a trip to the North Pole, for the Camp's annual visit from Santa Clause. Counselors stay up after their campers go to sleep – around 9:00p.m. – to work on Christmas gifts for Santa to give their campers.

"My favorite part is getting crazy with the campers," says Reed. "I really like the holidays. You talk to some campers and their parents and they say, 'All my kid talks about all year is camp.' We bring a whole year into camp in one week."

"Seeing these campers that have so many challenges, just seeing them smile and being put first where we're not trying to fit them into our world, we're trying to ft ourselves into their world makes you think 'you know what, I can get up and do it again,'" says Denman. "Their openness, their ability just to be themselves is something we all can learn from."

As Camp Fatima's week one session wrapped up on August 15th, Dolan was already looking ahead to 2011.

"What's important for people to understand is that the planning and preparation begin almost a year in advance. Almost immediately after that summer week ends," he said. 

Camp Fatima is funded through private giving, corporate matching gifts and fundraising activities. All together, the adult weekends and summer sessions cost a quarter-million dollars to host.

Funding is the biggest challenge," Dolan adds. This year, Camp Fatima accepted more campers but fewer volunteers, in an effort to reign in staff budgets.

The fundraising events have become a reunion of sorts for the volunteers, who relish the opportunity to come together for a little Fatimagic throughout the year. They will often break out in song, getting pumped up for that magical second week of August that has been reserved on their calendars for as long as they can remember.

While many say Camp Fatima is a week of hard work that they wouldn't trade for the world, Reed says her toughest challenge this year was that her camper was so social that he didn't want to listen to instructions. He was among the high-functioning autistic group. If she was ever frustrated, she didn't show it, as she guided him around the campsite with a smile day after long day.

As Saturday rolls around, it is always one of the hardest days at camp. In a conversation on Friday, Reed said, "I will definitely be in tears tomorrow. You form such a close bond with your camper throughout the week that you feel like you're losing a part of your family at the end of the week."

She adds that volunteering at Fatima has shaped her career – but not in the way one might expect.

"I did not do special education," she says, "because I wanted to keep coming to camp every year. I didn't want to burn out and have to choose between my career and camp, because I liked camp so much."

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