Dignity + Fun = Camp Able

Camp Able, a weeklong summer camp hosted by Wesley United Methodist Church on Marco Island, held its 18th annual camp for individuals with special needs, or what the camp terms “diverse abilities,” last week. 

More than 50 campers and more than 200 counselors and staffers kicked off the week, appropriately themed “The Games” in a nod to the upcoming Olympics, with a toga-clad, music-filled welcome event at Wesley United on the morning of Tuesday, July 9.

The campers ranged in age from 6 to 41, with 90 percent coming from within an hour’s drive of Marco, and some coming from as far as Canada, Philadelphia, and Illinois, according to Josh Baudin, who is a co-director of the camp with Casey Johnson.

“We’re here to offer a week of dignity to folks who, to be honest, don’t always receive it,” Baudin said. “The other thing we provide during the week is choices. A lot of our campers don’t get to make choices because somebody is making choices for them.”

Camp Able is structured to give campers a menu of activities to choose from each day, including paddle boarding, fishing, tubing, kayaking, arts and crafts, beach time, and ax throwing, among others. Each camper is paired with one or two counselors who supervise their activities and tend to their needs, and the week itself is infused with costumes, music, dancing, and lots of hugs.

Co-director Johnson says throughout most of the year, the campers are often forgotten in everyday society, with socialization sometimes scarce. Camp Able is designed to give them the spotlight they deserve.

“We try to essentially put them center stage the entire week and really hype them up,” Johnson said. “We have confetti cannons and costumes and music and everything we can to make the week as special as it can possibly be.”

For the campers, many of whom have attended the camp for multiple years, the week is one of the most important events in their lives, Baudin says. “I was telling everyone this morning that one of our campers has two things on her calendar each year, Christmas and Camp Able. Once Christmas is done, she starts looking forward to Camp Able.”

Matt White, the lead pastor at Wesley United, says the camp is an important part of the church’s ministry and is immensely popular with its congregation. 

“It really helps us live out our mission by welcoming the whole community, loving the campers and providing a place for people to serve and use their gifts and talents in a way that can really make a difference,” White said. “We have a lot of church members who are maybe going through a time of loss, and they can come here and experience the joy of being able to give. There’s a lot of healing in that.”

Camp Able is funded by generous donations from Marco’s businesses, churches, restaurants, and other nonprofit and volunteer organizations. “It can’t be done without the Marco community,” White said. 

The campers pay a $300 tuition fee to attend, but thanks to the growing outpouring of local support, that fee will be waived going forward. “As we’ve gotten other churches involved the word has spread even more,” White said. “Our goal by 2025 is to be tuition-free, and that’s going to happen.”

Nanette Moll, church administrator at Wesley United and a volunteer at the camp, has been volunteering with Camp Able in Marco since its founding 18 years ago. She says her first experience with the special needs community was when she taught an adult family member with special needs how to read using Dr. Seuss books. “Their place in the world is special,” Moll said. “All of us are great. We all have special things about us. But I’m telling you, special needs people teach us what the rest of the world is supposed to be like.”

Darrell Cummings of Arcadia, Florida, has been taking his daughter Brooks Anne to the camp for all 18 years Camp Able has been held. “This is the one thing she looks forward to each year,” Cummings said of his daughter, who is now 34. “Her whole year is based on this. She talks about it all the time.” When asked what her favorite part of the week is, his answer was simple: “The boys.”