SATH Walk and Roll-A-Thon

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Supplementary Assistance to the Handicapped (SATH) is holding its 20th annual Walk and Roll-A-Thon to raise money for June’s KAMP Dovetail.

According to SATH Executive Director Linda Allen, proceeds from the fundraiser go toward helping kids attend the annual camp, set for June 20-24 this year.

The Walk and Roll-A-Thon is scheduled, rain or shine, for April 9 at Rocky Fork Lake State Park. Registration will begin at 9 a.m. at the Dovetail Activity Area at the campgrounds. All walkers and rollers (wheelchairs, bikes, skates, etc.) are invited to come out and support KAMP Dovetail.

Allen said participants are encouraged to collect pledges prior to the event or to make a donation. The top five pledge collectors will receive a prize, she said. There will also be door prizes and refreshments.

And regardless of whether someone has collected pledges or not, Allen said they should join the walkers and rollers and come and see the camp. She said they walk about five miles.

“It’s a fun walk,” she said. “Nothing strenuous.”

KAMP (Kids And Motivated People) Dovetail, the summer camp for kids with disabilities, is readying for its 35th year. In that time the camp has served thousands of special needs campers and their volunteer teenage partners.

According to a press release from SATH, last year about 750 campers, staff, and volunteers “enjoyed a fun-filled week of outdoor camping experiences.” Those experiences include horseback riding, swimming, fishing, games, crafts, boating, entertainment, and much more for that special week.

Allen previously said a camper once told her that KAMP was so special because his abilities were focused on, not his disabilities.

Volunteers are assigned a camper for whom they are responsible throughout the week, helping them in whatever capacity is needed. The level of assistance is varied, Allen said, as “kids come from all over and with every disability.”

She previously said that no camper is turned away because of the nature of or severity of their disability. In the nearly three decades she’s been director of the camp, she said they’ve yet to encounter a disability they couldn’t handle between the medical personnel on hand and the trained volunteers.

Allen said anyone interested in sponsoring a camper, but unable to come out and walk, can bring in, mail in, or go online to make a donation. Forty dollars will cover a camper’s registration fees. She said there is also the option of adopting a camper, and that will cover the camper’s registration fee and their week of camp. That is $240. But according to Allen, any amount helps.

KAMP Dovetail costs about $60,000 to put on, Allen said. And fundraisers are held throughout the year to help ensure that every camper that comes gets that week of “unforgettable fun.”

Many of the campers can’t afford the registration or camp fees, but they are welcomed to KAMP anyway, Allen said. The rest gets figured out later.

For more information to walk or sponsor an individual, call Allen at 937-366-6657. Pledge sheets can be obtained by going to the website at www.kampdovetail.com. Pledges and donations can also be made on the website, or mailed to SATH, 5350 W. New Market Rd., Hillsboro, Ohio 45133.

Reach Angela Shepherd at 937-393-3456, ext. 1681, or on Twitter @wordyshepherd.

Campers and volunteers are pictured fishing last year at KAMP Dovetail, held the third week of June at Rocky Fork State Park.
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/2016/03/web1_Kamp-Dovetail-pic.jpgCampers and volunteers are pictured fishing last year at KAMP Dovetail, held the third week of June at Rocky Fork State Park.
20th annual event is fundraiser for KAMP Dovetail

By Angela Shepherd

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