Whispering Winds hosts a weekend family camp experience for families who have children (of any age) with special needs. This unique family camp experience takes place at the Whispering Winds campgrounds in the lovely Julian mountains on July 24-26, 2020.
To make this happen, we need a cadre of mature, compassionate and enthusiastic volunteers to serve the unique needs of our special needs campers, their typical siblings and parents.
Each family will be paired with an adult 1:1 Special Needs Buddy for their special needs child (35 total). We also need 20-30 additional adult volunteers to help run camp activities in order to provide a higher level of supervision and interaction with these exceptional families. We also provide families, that have typical siblings age 5 and under, with a dedicated 1:1 high school Child Care Assistant (CCA) (about 10-12).
“Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap.” Luke 6:38
Please review the three (3) opportunities below for you to serve families during our Special Needs Family Camp weekend and apply for the one best suited to your interests and availability.
1. Special Needs Buddy* – Adult volunteer exclusively paired 1:1 with a special needs child of any age/disability for the entire weekend. Our goal is to make each family feel assured that their child’s special needs are fully met while campers enjoy a fun-loving and caring companion during all planned weekend activities. Service dates: July 24, 1:00p.m. to July 26, 5:00p.m. Included: lodging, six meals plus snacks, Buddy T-shirt. (Minimum age: 18 and graduated high school senior by July 15). Must attend mandatory training session: July 14, 2020, 5 p.m.-9 p.m. St. Therese Catholic Church Social Center. 6049 Camino Rico, San Diego, CA 92120. Special Needs Buddy Flyer
2. Day of Volunteers – Adult volunteer to assist with camp activities (i.e., meal support, activity support, set-up/clean-up) for special needs children and their family members (Minimum age: 18). Attendance at the training session is encouraged – TBD.
3. Child Care Assistant (CCA) – Students entering 9th – 12th grade paired 1:1 with a typical sibling 5 and under and/or providing camp activity support for families throughout the weekend. Please see details on CCAs here.
Thank you for your interest in volunteering for our Special Needs Family Camp weekend!
*SNBs need no prior experience with children or adults with special needs, as Buddies will receive basic training from Whispering Winds staff, regarding the support and care of our campers with special needs.
