For the past 13 summers, Sam has been enjoying camp with Aaron's Acres, an organization that provides programing for children and adults with special needs. Sam has become a fixture at camp, and staff members affectionately refer to him as "The Mayor." Sam's focus at camp is on time in the water. His favorite thing is swimming.

Since 2022, Sam has been swimming in the New Holland Community Pool, located in the 400 block of Jackson Street. "We have truly been blessed with this partnership (the New Holland Community Park and Pool, which is overseen by New Holland Borough)," said Risa Paskoff, executive director of Aaron's Acres, referring to the borough and park staff members. "They welcomed us. They tell us they love having us here, and we love being part of this community."

Aaron's Acres holds camp in New Holland over three two-week sessions. The first camp began on June 17, and camp will end on Friday, Aug. 2. "We skip the week of July 1," explained Paskoff. Camp is open to individuals ages 5 to 21 of varying abilities. "No one is turned away because of disability," said Paskoff, who noted that the staff, which offers a one-to-one or one-to-two counselor-to-camper ratio, includes two nurses. Program director Elaine Burnett oversees the camps. Burnett's staff now includes interns from area colleges, who receive credit for their work. "We formalized college relationships so students can do internships, and we are trying to expand that piece as we continue to grow," said Paskoff, who added that the number of campers is dependent on the number of staff members and that some camps are smaller this year because it has been challenging to find adequate staff.

Campers are grouped by age, with those ages 5 to 12 in a younger group and 13- to 21-year-olds together in the older group. All campers have opportunities to swim, ride horseback, enjoy music therapy, and interact with animals in a petting zoo. Staff members organized for fire trucks to visit the park and for a ventriloquist and reptile show to give presentations. To provide parents the opportunity to see campers enjoying those activities, a large number of volunteer photographers visit camp to take photos. Each camper receives a booklet filled with pictures of him or herself taking part in camp activities.

"There's no downtime," noted Paskoff. "We are going constantly." According to Paskoff, campers may take part in a new activity every 15 minutes. "It's a lot of planning," she said, adding that activities are not designed just to keep campers busy. "Everything we do has meaning behind it," Paskoff said. "We're working on socialization or motor skills." Each day of camp has a different theme, and activities and snacks coordinate to that theme. Parents receive a schedule on the first day of camp so they can share what the activities will be before the child goes to camp each day. "At the end of the day, the parent can have a conversation about what the child did during the day," said Paskoff.

The rewards of camp are myriad, and they are experienced by campers, staff, and parents, according to Paskoff, who told the story of a child who was refusing to take part in horseback riding. Staff members convinced him to give it a try, and after his first ride, he asked to go again. Sharing that story with the child's family resulted in happy tears for staff and parents alike.

Although camp is only available for individuals up to age 21, Aaron's Acres now provides activities for those with special needs up to age 40, including a sports league and a cooking program. "We want to expand to that age group because there's a huge need," said Paskoff. "We want to do it now to be true to who we are, so in the fall we will be doing more with that age group."

Expanding the program has intensified the need for the organization to have a home where those services can be provided. "We are looking at existing places that want to partner with us," said Paskoff, who noted that a long-term lease situation would be ideal for the organization.

More information about Aaron's Acres may be found at http://www.aaronsacres.org.