Each month, Northeast Oregon Now will highlight a nonprofit in the greater Hermiston area with its Nonprofit Spotlight. Know of a nonprofit doing good in the community? Feel free to let us know at neonow@outlook.com for future installments of Nonprofit Spotlight.
WESTON, Ore.-Camp Meadowood Springs in the Blue Mountains will welcome campers for the 61st summer in a few weeks.
The mission of the nonprofit camp is to “improve the lives of children who have communication difficulties and related disorders by providing service, education, training and research in an inclusive environment.”
Camp at Meadowood Springs runs for three, week-long sessions throughout July, and campers are provided intensive therapy, as well as recreational opportunities.
“Camp Meadowood Springs works, it really is magic on the mountain,” said Tim Sicocan, Executive Director of the camp, of the subtle, but steady and pronounced progress shown by campers every year.
Making camp
When a group from the University of Oregon founded the nonprofit Oregon Institute for Rehabilitation, Research and Recreation, and began looking for a place to open a camp for kids in 1964, they found the current site near the Tollgate Recreation Area in the Umatilla National Forest.
The Hendricks family from Milton-Freewater donated the original 144 acres of land, and the Meadowood Springs Speech and Hearing Camp welcomed 15 kids for its first session.
In 1973 the Oregon Elks Lodge adopted Camp Meadowood Springs as a major project to support and to date is the longest-continuous donor in the camp’s history, providing monetary and manpower donations, as well as support through its annual banquet, golf tournament, various fundraisers and building efforts at the camp.
Parcels of the original camp were sold off over the years and Camp Meadowood is currently about 90 acres in size.
Serving campers
“It’s about how much therapy we can provide campers in a short period of time,” said Sicocan. “Camp really is impactful, in addition to all meals and lodging being provided, each camper gets 30-40 hours of intensive therapy each week.”
Camp Meadowood Springs serves campers between the ages of 6 and 14 with communication and/or social learning challenges, including apraxia, speech-sound disorders, stuttering and receptive/expressive language disorders
The communication needs of campers could also be secondary to another disability or diagnosis, such as Down Syndrome, Autism or hearing loss.
Camp Meadowood Springs utilizes a Push-In Therapy model, with camp counselors, licensed Speech-language Pathologists (SLP) and students working toward SLP licensure through a partnering University, provide therapy for campers.
“It’s not just about articulation,” said Sicocan. “We’re a speech, language and communication camp, sometimes kids may not use enough language and we’re able to help with that.”
Most campers only receive about an hour of specialized speech services or therapy a month during the school year, according to Sicocan, a fact that makes Meadowood’s ability to immerse campers in up to 30 hours of therapy a week for three weeks essential.
Running camp
Camp Meadowood Springs operates under a “Rule of 3” meaning two kids: one staff and one staff: two kids.
In addition to Sicocan, there’s a Clinical Director, Camp Director, Camp Counselors, a Supervising Clinician, student clinicians and support staff, including kitchen staff, a lifeguard and nurse.
Staff at Camp Meadowood Springs are well trained in providing speech and language therapy, as well as emergency procedures, just in case anything goes wrong.
Several of the Directors and lead staff are from nearby areas, and many of the seasonal staff at Meadowood are repeat employees.
“Staff familiarity is important, a lot are local and come back every year,” said Sicocan. “They’ve built that relationship with camp and now they’re able to have more of an impact on campers and make the camp experience even better.”
Camp life
Campers at Meadowood sleep 8-10 to a cabin and are grouped by gender and age, two adults are also assigned to each cabin.
You could say we’re a “sunup to sundown experience,” said Sicocan, and the daily routine of camp illustrates that, with a full schedule of therapy, individual and group events, and recreational opportunities from 7:15 a.m. and lights out at 9:30 p.m.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served “family-style”, and campers can choose to participate in a different elective activity each day.
Established therapy goals are integrated into the daily life of camp and are taught, learned and practiced throughout the day, with therapy sessions and training and even Master Classes, where campers focus on one skill or task for a week.
“For our Master Classes campers focus on a specific task, such as baking cupcakes, for a week,” said Sicocan. “The classes use listening, learning and practicing, by talking and doing campers get really good at the tasks.”
Campers at Meadowood also enjoy the traditional recreational activities associated with summer camp, such as hiking, arts and crafts and other outdoor activities.
A highlight of camp is the nightly gathering at the lake where campers are able to have fun, build trust and work on what they learned in therapy by making costumes, building sets and performing skits.
Overnight camp at Meadowood runs Sunday through Friday and consists of three sessions.
- Session 1: July 13-18
- Session 2: July 20-25
- Session 3: July 27-August 1
Camp partners
Camp Meadowood Springs is a nonprofit and works to make the experience available for all, something that would be impossible without advocates and volunteers.
“Community connections, especially from the surrounding towns and cities help immensely,” said Sicocan. “They know what resources are available and how to help.”
For over 40 years, the Oregon Elks Lodge has come to camp every Memorial Day for building or maintenance projects at Meadowood, in addition to its fundraising efforts throughout the year.
The Milton-Freewater Kiwanis also donate their time and resources to the camp, as do service organizations from several local communities. Private donations from individuals and organizations also help Meadowood serve campers.
The cost of Camp Meadowood Springs is about $3,000 when the therapy and overnight experience are factored in, a prohibitive cost for some, and one Meadowood tries not to pass on to the families of campers.
“We see no financial or geographic boundary to camp,” said Sicocan, and families are encouraged to apply for financial assistance, and most attendees do receive financial aid or scholarships to attend.
Support Camp Meadowood Springs
Monetary donations are always welcome and the opportunity to sponsor a camper or fund a scholarship are available.
Secure online donations can also be made, and items may also be purchased from Camp Meadowood’s Amazon Wishlist.
Volunteer help is also always welcome at Camp Meadowood Springs and volunteer applications are available online or by contacting camp at 541.276.2752.
“People think that if they can’t help in July when camp is running, they can’t ever help,” said Sicocan. “We’re happy to have anyone who wants to help get involved throughout the year and would invite them to become advocates.”
Breaking camp
For Sicocan, who obviously believes in the mission of Camp Meadowood Springs and cares about the campers, all the work is worthwhile at the end of the summer.
“When I see campers with big smiles on their faces hugging their parents and when those parents say, ‘camp made a difference in their kids’ lives and that their kids made lasting friendships,’ that’s what a successful camp looks like to me.”
