Camp Create co-founder Stephen Colley oversees a previous year’s session.
Submitted Photo
Now in its 26th year, Camp Create brings together the power of creativity, ingenuity, and play for children from ages 6 through 12 who have physical, cognitive, emotional, or behavioral challenges. The annual theater and visual arts day camp for children with special needs is scheduled for the first two weeks of August this year.
Each one-week session allows campers to explore and learn about a specific theme on their own terms. According to co-founder Michaela Moore, that means anything from designing costumes, to creating puppets and coming up with their own characters. “We let the kids lead the way in what they want to create,” Moore said. “They truly thrive when they are in control of their own learning.”
Each session starts with a theme. From Aug. 3 through 7, the theme “Dino-mite!” will allow campers the opportunity to learn all about dinosaurs. The second session, which runs from August 10 through August 14, encompasses the theme “Hidden Worlds!” and allows campers to discover lost civilizations like Ancient Egypt or mystical places like Easter Island or Atlantis. On first day of each session, campers explore the theme, and from there they can design whatever inspires them. “Our projects are based around what the kids are interested in and want to do,” Moore said. “We never say ‘oh, you have to work on this now.’ It isn’t school, it’s camp. It’s supposed to be fun.”
The founders and staff at Camp Create also work to ensure it remains a space where campers can be themselves. That includes a sensory area, which offers campers a soft entry into an environment that could otherwise become overstimulating. An emphasis is placed on accommodating the needs of individual campers. While the age range of campers is from 6 to 12 years old, Moore said that camp directors are also willing to accommodate children who fall outside that range depending on their abilities.
The idea for Camp Create originated when Moore, along with fellow co-founders and Dietrich Theatre artists-in-residence Steve and Amy Colley, were approached by a service agency that wanted to establish a day camp for children with special needs. At the time, the Colleys were using space at the Waverly Community House for their art studio, while Moore was using space there for her performing arts school, All About Theatre. Camp Create seemed like a natural merging of their creative endeavors.
After the initial funding agency ceased operations, the co-founders began fundraising efforts to ensure that Camp Create would become a part of every summer for the children who attend.
“We have kids who come for years and years,” Moore explained, adding that while most campers are local, some have come from as far as New York State to attend. In fact, Moore said, returning campers have gone on to intern with the camp once they become older, and a robust internship program has continued to help with staffing the camp as well as with outreach to prospective campers. “They really love the experience,” she said.
The Waverly Community House was the original home to Camp Create, but the camp moved in 2022 to Church of the Epiphany in Glenburn Township. Moore expressed gratitude to the church for allowing them to continue the program, and to the sponsors who have helped fund Camp Create. Through organizations like the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, Procter & Gamble, and the Eureka Foundation, as well as in-kind donations from local sponsors, Camp Create is offered for only $25 per session. Families that find tuition to be cost-prohibitive can ask for a scholarship to one or both sessions, with no questions asked or needs-based income requirements.
“If someone needs help, we give them help,” Moore explained.
Perhaps the most exciting part of Camp Create comes at the end of each session, when campers put together their costumes, characters, and props to stage a play all their own. Performances are open to the public and held during the last half hour of each session, allowing family members to see everything their camper accomplished during the week. Campers then receive a specialized award just for them.
“It’s really about celebrating each camper,” Moore said. “It recognizes all that they’ve done and what they can do as individuals, while letting them come together as a group for the performance.”
Camp Create’s Session 1: “Dino-mite!” is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Aug. 3 through 7. Session 2: “Hidden Worlds” is set for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Aug. 10 through 14. Both will be held at Church of Epiphany, 25 Church Hill Road.
Each session costs $25.
Camp Create is appropriate for children ages 6-12 with special needs, including physical, cognitive, emotional, or behavioral challenges.
For information, call 570-586-8099 or email campcreatepa@gmail.com.
