On the morning of November 22, we attended a breakfast reception wearing many hats. We were there as parents of a HASC camper who for 35 years couldn’t wait to return for her summer camping experience, and we were there primarily as the parents of two children who had worked as counselors at Camp HASC. The purpose of the breakfast, which took place at the home of Heidi and Alan Fuchs, was to recognize and herald the outstanding services provided by the counselors at Camp HASC, with special recognition to their parents. Any parent of a HASC counselor has to deserve some of the credit for the fact that their child went to contribute to the HASC family.
We always commented each year as we visited our daughter Naama, and throughout the summer, that any person who chose to work at HASC was a tzaddik. We saw young people devoting their summers to the challenges of working with special-needs campers who have various disabilities. In most cases, these counselors had never worked as hard in their entire lives. Yet, ask them if they want to return to HASC the following year, and overwhelmingly the answer is yes.
Many have little idea of what they are actually in for before they get to camp. Indeed, their parents absolutely are in the dark in most cases of what lies ahead for their adolescent child. After several days of working at HASC the counselors are enamored with their charges and when parents visit on specially selected days they are in awe of the campers and the amazing contribution that their children are making to this elite special community. I say elite because through it all we look at the campers at HASC as being special stars that Hashem has brought to this earth.
Judge Danny Butler charmed the group present with his reminisces of how he began sending his children to HASC. Undoubtedly each parent has his or her own rendition of what HASC has meant to their family. From personal experience I can say that having Naama away in such a warm, caring environment gave our family the opportunity to unwind and live in what most people would consider a calm, everyday life.
For families who desperately need this respite, the news of Camp HASC having its own federal and state registration with its own registered nonprofit status cannot come soon enough. Nowhere in the world does a facility exist that offers seven amazing weeks for the special-needs camper. Everyone is excited to join together in this new fundraising endeavor. Parents whose children have gained from working at HASC have been in the forefront of fundraising because they are grateful for what HASC has done to make their children into what will be more realistic, sensitive and caring adults.
Everyone is invited to join in the excitement of the “New Camp HASC,” and Dr. Nina Butler, spearheading this campaign, would love to hear from you. She can be reached at [email protected].
By Nina Glick
