At Trailways Camps, camping is the real thing. Campers fish off the pier, ride horses, swim, paddle a canoe, and end the day around the campfire or at a dance or talent show. Every camper gets the support needed to participate in activities.
At the sprawling Riverside Retreat Center along the scenic Caloosahatchee River, adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and volunteers enjoy the perfect Old Florida setting to make new friends, unplug, and be revived by nature and fellowship.
For many of the 20 campers in the 4-day overnight camps, it’s a rare opportunity to get out of the house, away from the TV, and engage with peers as part of a fun, supportive community. It also gives aging parents and caregivers much-needed respite and networking opportunities.
“The heart of our mission is to accommodate each camper and encourage them to participate. They often surprise themselves and their caregivers with what they can do with the right support,” says Jamie Senkeleski, Executive Director.
It Starts Before Camp Begins
Getting started is simple. All we need is documentation of Intellectual Disability, and no specific diagnosis is required to attend.
From there, we get to know each camper. Did you know our team makes home visits before camp? Meeting campers and families at home helps us understand what each person needs, from dietary needs to mobility support.
“By the time a camper arrives, we’ve already planned around them,” says Senkeleski.
Home visits and our intake form also inform us about every dietary restriction, food allergy, and texture or feeding need ahead of time, so each camper arrives to meals that are safe, comfortable, and just right for them.
Every Activity, Every Camper
At Trailways, every camper can take part in every activity, unless their physician has advised a restriction. We don’t ask campers to sit out. We adapt the activity so they have the opportunity to join in.
Our camp is designed for wheelchair users and campers with limited mobility:
- A wheelchair-adaptive golf cart gets campers around camp.
- The fishing pier is fully accessible.
- The swimming pool has a lift.
- Beds have expanded mattresses to make transfers from a wheelchair easier.
- Jeff’s Jump seat lets campers who need extra support ride along in a canoe.
- Bingo cards include Braile packages
People Make It Possible
The real secret is our people. Each overnight camp serves 20 campers, supported by an average of 50 to 75 volunteers. That means we can offer one-on-one support during the most active parts of the day.
Hands-on help in the creative arts allows expression through arts and crafts, such as assembling and painting birdhouses to take home. Every camp includes a give-back project, so campers learn how good it feels to support their community and environment.
Campers are split into four groups, each with counselors, and every camper is paired with a buddy. A registered nurse is on site, and certified nursing assistants provide personal care support, including overnight. Volunteers also bring support animals to camp, which many campers love and find very comforting.
We also offer a Healthy Living activity led by the camp’s Operations/Outreach Coordinator Karan Balmer. From healthy recipes and take-home tips to yoga moves, these activities encourage campers to be more aware of a healthy lifestyle.
Safety comes first. Every volunteer passes a background check, and those who provide one-on-one or overnight care complete a second one.
Each camp ends with a talent show gala experience, where everyone — even the most reluctant on arrival — celebrates a part of their true individual character by singing, dancing, or sharing other fun ways to creatively express themselves.
Come See for Yourself
Picture reeling in your first fish, gliding across the river in a canoe, or cannonballing into the pool with your friends cheering. That’s a normal day at Trailways.
“We offer a true camping experience, with the support to make it happen. We can’t wait to welcome you,” says Senkeleski. “As our motto says, we are ‘a place where you are something special.’”
Thanks to this year’s generous sponsors, Trailways Camps is offering five overnight camps.
Camping Experience Sponsors include United Way of Lee, Hendry, & Glades, Riverside Retreat, Grampy’s Charities, the Robert V. and Benjamin G. Miller Fund, the Sanctuary Golf Club Foundation, Captiva Chapel by the Sea, Aqua Systems (Fort Myers), Golisano Foundation, the Village Church at Shell Point, Sanibel-Captiva Lions Club, Sanibel Carts, Sanibel Community Church, and MSJ Enterprises.
