Counsellor enjoys a whipped cream pie at Variety Village
Howls of laughter break out in the courtyard of Variety Village, which is crowded with children participating in a mock trial of their counsellors on the final day of summer camp.
As “charges” are read in kangaroo court, each counsellor is brought forth for “punishment” that includes whipped cream in the face or an egg over the head.
It’s an age-old ritual that’s performed at summer camps everywhere at this time of year, but it’s also unique because many of children at this particular camp are living with disabilities.
1250 campers year round
Variety Village provides year round camp programming for 1,250 children – 750 with disabilities and 500 who are able-bodied. Children can participate in multi-sport camp, swim camp, dance camp, art camp..and the list goes on. It’s the kind of integrated programming that’s difficult to find for children suffering from disabilities or behavioural disorders such as ADHD.
8-year old Jasper Pemberton masters the diving board
One of the campers is 8-year old Jasper Pemberton, who spent three hours a day in the pool this summer and learned to master jumping off the diving board. Jasper has Fragile X syndrome, which is the leading genetic cause of intellectual disabilities and autism.
His mother, Laura Johnston says Jasper “adores” Variety Village and is going to be “miserable” without it:
“They cater to everybody and he loved it. He was in the regular camp program. He was independent, meeting new kids and it gave him confidence going into new situations.”
Identity doesn’t centre on disability
Johnston credits Jasper’s positive experience at Variety Village to the staff:
Jasper Pemberton and Zack Copplestone, head instructor Swim Camp
“It’s really difficult having a special needs child but one of the real gifts is the fact that we’ve had the opportunity to meet such incredible people…They are so positive. They are so encouraging. And they see Jasper as just Jasper. They see beyond Jasper having special needs. They’re incredible. I love them.”
Camp Coordinator Ben Scholes says finding appropriate camps for children with disabilities, is especially difficult when they’re older. Scholes says they’ve got campers coming from as far away as Vaughan and Pickering for a program where every child is known by name and their disability is not the focus of their identity.
“For a lot of them, this is where they are going to be most successful. Everyone knows them. We have a lot of different disabilities but we never focus on their disabilities or talk about their disabilities, says Scholes.”
Integration important for families
Another parent who’s grateful to Variety Village is Allison Bartram, a mother of three boys, including 11-year old Cameron who has severe autism and is non-verbal.
Cameron Bartram
Cameron is in an integrated sports camp and Allison says the routine and having somewhere to go every day is important to his well-being.
All of the Bartram children have gone to camp at Variety Village over the last seven years and Allison says it’s as important for her other sons as it is Cameron.
“For my other kids it’s difficult for them to have a brother with a disability because there’s a lot of different kinds of responsibilities placed on them. For them to be able to see other people with disabilities that behave similar to how Cameron behaves is really good for them. But also to see other typical children that also have siblings with disabilities to see how they’re able to deal with a brother or sister. They develop a sense of empathy and belonging.”
Helping out parents
Allison works outside the home as a restaurant manager and having Variety Village as a resource is important because she works shifts. By design, Variety Village runs camps not just in the summer, but on PA Days, March Break and Easter Monday in order to help parents while they are at work.
Studies have shown that families who care for a disabled child are at risk of sliding into poverty because their parents need to curb their hours or drop out of the work force.
For both Cameron and Jasper, although summer camp has ended, they’ll be back.
Laura Johnston says Variety Village has become such an important part of their lives that she and her husband have decided they’ll never move to another city:
“I can’t imagine leaving Toronto because we’re never going to find another Variety Village. It’s that much a part of our lives. I can’t even imagine. We are so lucky. We are so lucky.”
Thanks for such an interesting and informative article. I sometimes forget how very fortunate we are to have Variety Village located in Birchcliff.
I know what you mean Tamara. I learned this week that Variety Village has been helping young people with disabilities since 1948, before there was provincial health care system. It was a school before it became a sport facility in the early 80’s.
As a family we have been members for 7 years and my two sons have grown-up and been part of many teams. Our east end commmunity is indeed very fortunate to have such a facility, however together we must continue to raise our voices to support its place in our society.