Physical Health United States Project #16893

Camp for 400 Kids with Autism & Medical Needs

by Dragonfly Forest

Camp for 400 Kids with Autism & Medical Needs

Project Report | Oct 31, 2017
Dragonfly Forest is Getting Ready for Summer 2018

By Mark Manning | Development Director

Judie speaks about the impact of camp on her son

Hello GlobalGiving Supporters!

We have a couple big changes to announce at Dragonfly Forest. First, we'd like to welcome Josh Holmes and Ryan Tressler to the operations team!

Josh "Purple Josh" Holmes spent his first summer at Dragonfly Forest back in 2010, where he started as a unit leader and later as Mystery Hour activity director. When camp was not in session he taught and worked with other non-profit organizations. Josh taught at a school in Michigan for kids with learning challenges for five years in classrooms ranging from 1st to 12th grades.

Josh also worked at a nonprofit in California that helped adults with neurological and physical challenges acquire and practice job skills to be better prepared to enter the workforce.

During the summer of 2017 he returned to Dragonfly as the Senior Program Director and is thrilled to be back to help foster a fun, nurturing, and safe environment for kids to build relationships with others facing similar challenges.

Ryan "Grandpa" Tressler joined Dragonfly Forest in 2010. At the time he was a unit leader of the Blue and Red units, worked as a director in 2015 and came back to camp full time as the Advanced Program Director in 2017. Ryan has spent time volunteering at other camps including Camp Abilities (PA) and Camp Tall Tree (MI).

Ryan studied Adapted PE at West Chester University and in the past worked at Lionville YMCA day camp and at Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health as a Direct Care Specialist. Ryan can't wait to help create a camp experience that will be the most memorable week of the year for all of our campers!

Next, we're already working to make Dragonfly Forest better and more accessible for all children with autism and medical needs, regardless of their family's ability to pay! For the summer of 2018, we anticipate bringing 375 children up to camp. One of the first steps towards this was condensing our three annual fundraising events into one event, Dragonfly Forest Honors. The event raised $44,000 for the scholarship fund and recapped in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Judie Albertson, a camper parent, was able to speak to the crowd about the impact of the Dragonfly Forest program on her son, Derik. The event honored Jenifer Westphal, a longtime advisor to our chairman and friend of the program, for her work for Dragonfly Forest and the autism community at large.

Finally, an administrative note. As mentioned in previous reports, the Dragonfly Forest program has become a program of the Philadelphia Freedom Valley YMCA. This fall we're switching over the EIN on our GlobalGiving page to more accurately reflect that change. Any contribution - whether already received or a future gift - will continue to go directly to our program to help children attend camp if their family cannot afford the cost of camp. As a program of the YMCA, we are able to offer the same quality program for a lower cost! We're pretty excited about that!

Until next time,

Mark Manning

Development Director

(484) 431-4898

mark.manning@philaymca.org

Josh "Purple Josh" Holmes, Senior Program Director

Ryan "Grandpa" Tressler, Advanced Program Director

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Jul 14, 2017
Dragonfly Forest is in session!

By Mark Manning | Development Director

All smiles while scaling the rock wall

Summer is in full swing and the Dragonfly Forest team couldn't be happier! We have undergone some big changes over this past year, as previously reported in our April report. Our partnership with the Philadelphia Freedom Valley YMCA continues and allowed us to expand our session offerings from four weeklong sessions to five in 2017! As a part of the YMCA, we will work to introduce more and more children with a unique need to this supportive community each summer.

We are so excited to serve hundreds of children this summer! We just held a session for children with 22q11.2 chromosome deletion syndrome (formerly known as DiGeorge syndrome, among other names) that allowed children from multiple states to meet peers and counselors like them. Meanwhile, through the magic of camp, they're learning important skills like how to make friends and manage their own health.

Here are some of our favorite reviews from week 1 of camp:

"I love that everybody understands me and I have fun every time even when I am tired and that I can make new friends whenever I want" -female camper, yellow unit

"The visit should be for two weeks!" -male camper, blue unit

"It's fun and people know your diagnosis and I feel safe here." -female camper, blue unit

On top of that, our first group of participants already feel the positive effects of camp. Over 55% of children this past week stated that their friends back home don't really understand their diagnosis. Meanwhile, over 68% of campers said it helps them to meet people like them and over 78% of campers said camp helped them learn to tell other people what they need. There is power in meeting people who get it from the get go and understand ones' unique needs. That's the community we strive to make every day this summer at Dragonfly Forest. On top of that, children leave with skills that will help them in their daily lives back home.

Our operations team is hard at work creating an amazing second week for children with autism and 22q this week, so we'll have to save the personal stories for the next report! In the meantime, please enjoy the attached photos and follow along with our summer on our Facebook page!

You can see more photos of our first week of camp here.

In gratitude,

Mark Manning

Development Director

mark.manning@philaymca.org

484-431-4898

In the zone at archery

Sandcastles at the waterfront

Consulting a mermaid during an evening activity

Closing campfire

Links:

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Apr 4, 2017
Exciting news from Dragonfly Forest!

By Mark Manning | Dragonfly Forest

Campers Canoeing

Dear Dragonfly Supporter,

We have some exciting news to share with all of you about the growth of Dragonfly Forest. Our team has taken great pride in serving kids with autism and medical needs for many years and with your support, we have had a tremendous impact on our community. As the demand for this type of program continued to grow, the Dragonfly Forest Board of Directors reached out to the Philadelphia Freedom Valley YMCA for help in expanding and sustaining the program.

As you may know, last year our Dragonfly Forest campers enjoyed 1,100 acres of beautiful camp grounds at the Camp Speers YMCA, the outdoor overnight camp for the Philadelphia Freedom Valley YMCA. This year, Dragonfly Forest will run at Camp Speers as part of their Y camp offerings. This new arrangement allows Dragonfly and the Y to serve more campers, Y members, participants and the community.

Dragonfly Forest and the Y remain committed to helping kids in need participate in camp. As the program continues to grow, we recognize that many more families will be interested in scholarships this summer. The Y does not turn anyone away because of an inability to pay, and we will continue to work with our supporters to ensure that financial assistance is available to all those in need.

The Dragonfly Forest and Camp Speers Y teams are incredibly excited about the new opportunities available for children and their families. We look forward to your continued support and spending more summers with you at Dragonfly Forest at Camp Speers.

What does this mean for the children and teenagers we serve? The YMCA is committed to offering the same Dragonfly Forest program our families, supporters, and participants know and love. From a camper's perspective, not a lot will change. The camper-counselor relationship has been and will continue to be the most important aspect of our program. Additionally, the YMCA and Dragonfly Forest share the same commitment that no child should be turned away from a program because of a family's inability to pay. We will continue to offer a robust financial aid package. Additionally, our staff will continue to reflect our campers and create a welcoming community for children from diverse backgrounds. What will change in the long run is our capacity to expand to serve more children with autism and medical needs in the region and the United States.

What does this mean for donors? The Philadelphia Freedom Valley YMCA is managing the Dragonfly Forest program. Dragonfly Forest, Inc. continues to exist as its own 501(c)3 organization and all donations will continue to fund the same program. Thanks to the support of the YMCA, we expect our overall budget for 2017 to decrease and our capacity for how many children we can serve to increase! In fact, we have already expanded our program offerings from four weeklong sessions to six!

We hope you are as excited about this collaborative effort as we are! Please send any inquiries about this new partnership to mark@dragonflyforest.org.

Best regards,

Mark Manning

Development Director

Dragonfly Forest

mark@dragonflyforest.org

267-225-1239

S'mores!

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