Whether you call it Vacation Bible School or something else, summer day camp is an amazing opportunity to welcome your community to your church and make the message of the Gospel accessible in creative ways. It is also an opportunity to welcome children and families impacted by disability to your church, many of whom may or may not attend on Sunday mornings. Summer day camp can be a richly inclusive experience for all with thoughtful preparation and communication.
Here are three basic tips for welcoming those with disabilities at your summer day camp.
Sometimes, the most difficult hurdle to inclusivity and access for a person with disabilities is the phrase “we’ve always done it that way”. Our churches will not be able to respond to the needs of our campers if we are unwilling to humbly and thoroughly assess what is working and what is not working in our current programs and structures. Examine your summer day camp mission, vision, and execution. What barriers might exist for accessibility and inclusion for campers and families with disabilities? How might your team address these barriers? What new resources are needed to remove these barriers? Making an honest assessment of the current state of affairs of your summer camp ministry will help open doors for necessary change and increased levels of inclusivity. Challenge yourself and your ministry team to view the day camp experience from different perspectives and make necessary changes and adjustments to promote access and inclusivity.
Communication is key to the development and success of a summer day camp ministry. Clearly communicate to families, particularly families with a camper with a disability, the plan for support for their child. Ask questions to learn more about how your team could support the child to have a positive camp experience. What activities does the child enjoy? What activities or situations does the child find stressful? What does the child need when they become dysregulated? What allergies might the child have? These questions—and many more like them—can communicate to the family that their child will be seen and known at day camp. These questions also ensure that day camp staff and volunteers view each child as an individual worthy of love and care. As you begin to develop a support plan for the child, be sure to communicate in a timely manner details to the family, including the daily camp schedule, snack menu (if providing snacks), group leaders’ names and contact information, and any other piece of information needed to help prepare the child and family for day camp.
Providing adequate training to summer day camp staff and volunteers ensures that everyone understands the plan for supporting campers. Educate your team on what individual needs may exist and the plan for addressing those needs. Communicate clearly expectations of supervision, participation, camper-volunteer-family communication, emergency procedures, etc . Clear expectations are vital to building healthy teams and creating a foundation of mutual trust and respect between all parties. Healthy, informed teams are more able to respond in a timely, thoughtful manner when challenges or questions arise than teams who are disconnected and fragmented. Training will look different program to program and perhaps summer to summer depending on camper needs, which is why program assessment and communication must be part of the camp preparation process as well.
Ultimately, your church should seek to provide a fun, safe, inclusive, supportive, and affirming space to all campers. Happy summer camp prep!
If your summer camp team would like a free ministry consultation, please reach out to set up a time to talk with us.
