"Phenomenal" Ramapo
by Kyle Avery

For a young woman like Julie, three weeks at a summer sleep-away camp is a daunting proposition. She is nervous, and at 15 she still struggles to make eye contact. When her stress is high, she unconsciously pulls out her hair, which makes people uncomfortable and keeps her from making friends. In big groups, her anxiety often grows until she has to flee the room, a habit that confuses her classmates and makes her the target of a lot of teasing. Julie is lonely, but meeting new people induces panic, especially away from home.

Camp Ramapo provides a haven for over 500 children and teens like Julie every summer, children who struggle to connect with friends and family. Like all kids, the campers who come to the 250-acre Rhinebeck camp are looking for fun and friendships, along with swimming, hiking, and marshmallow roasts. But for these youth with social, emotional, or learning challenges, Camp Ramapo offers something more: a supportive, inclusive environment where they can experience success, often for the first time in their lives.

In the morning, Julie sits on the floor of her cabin surrounded by her bunkmates, five girls between the ages of 14 and 17 who each have unique challenges. Guided by their counselors, the girls discuss what it means to be a strong woman, focusing on the inner strength to act, regardless of others’ opinions. The teens are encouraged to reflect on how it feels when they know they are being strong. While some of the girls shout out suggestions and recognize their peers for “phenomenal” acts, Julie writes her thoughts down in a small notebook; she plans to share them later one-on-one with her counselors.

Julie’s opportunity to speak up comes during the next activity, when she helps younger campers participate in a “goofy relay.” Shouting encouragements, Julie and her best friend Chelsea hold on to the wiggly legs of two 8-year-olds as they run a wheelbarrow race to the finish line. Julie doesn’t push her young charges too hard, but she’s ready to act as a positive leader, a sign of her growing maturity.

In the afternoon, Julie’s bunk makes their way up the hill to the high ropes challenge course. Taking deep breaths to calm her fear of heights, Julie climbs the ladder to the zipline and stands on the edge of the platform. There she hesitates, unable to trust herself to jump and grasp the metal bar that hangs just out of her reach. Her friends cheer her on, calling her name and urging her to “go for it.” With shaking hands, she closes her eyes and propels herself off the platform. Her bunkmates erupt into whooping shouts and applause. Back on the ground, Julie’s face lights up with pride; this is the first time she has completed the activity without climbing back down, and she’s ready to go for it again.

The first day after Julie’s mother dropped her off at Ramapo, she held her cell phone ready in her hand, waiting for it to ring. She fully expected a counselor to call any minute to report that her daughter was out of control; that Julie could not handle summer camp and needed to be picked up. Past experiences made her believe this call was inevitable.

But the call never came, not for Julie or for any of Camp Ramapo’s parents. For these kids, just being able to stay at camp for three weeks can be the biggest, and most unexpected, success of all. Not only did Julie make it through all three weeks of camp, but she felt safe enough to come back again next summer.

Kyle Avery is Director of Communications at Ramapo for Children. She met Julie and Chelsea (names changed) while visiting camp during Camp Ramapo’s third summer session in 2011. Camp Ramapo, in Rhinebeck since 1922, is based just off Salisbury Turnpike and serves children ages 6 to 16 affected by social, emotional, or learning challenges, including autism spectrum disorders. Ramapo for Children also provides year-round retreats for young people, educators, and other community-based organizations. For more information contact Kyle at (646) 588-2308 or kavery@ramapoforchildren.org.