Camp Eagle hosts Easter Seals event

The teenagers gathered at Camp Eagle this week got to do activities like horseback riding, canoeing, swimming, archery and arts and crafts.

In other words, they got to do things traditionally associated with summer camp.

But what made this week more special was that all of the campers suffered from some sort of disability.

The teens were taking part in a camp sponsored by Easter Seals, which gives those with disabilities the chance to participate in camps.

“A lot of our campers don’t get a chance to go to any other camps, and here we can adapt to all their needs and make sure they are safe and having a good time,” Camp Eagle director Paige Brune said.

Brune, a Dodge native who will be a special education teacher for kindergarten through third grade at Bell Field Elementary in Fremont this fall, is in her fourth year at Camp Eagle, located near Cedar Bluffs.

She started as a counselor and worked as a cabin head and assistant director before taking over as director this summer.

Along with the teenagers who were at the camp this week, the Easter Seals program also allows for youths and adults to attend camp.

“That’s really our pleasure is to meet these kids and adults and get to know them and how wonderful they are,” Brune said. “When they go home sad because they want to stay here and are excited for next summer, that’s the reward right there.”

The campers arrived last Sunday and had activities every day, including a dance Thursday night. They were scheduled to head home late this morning.

“When you see them on Sunday and they’re smiling and can’t wait to come up and give you a hug and see you, that makes it worth it to know that they’ve waited the whole school year and winter break just to come to summer camp,” Brune said.

Many of the campers return year after year, Brune said.

One of those was Aaron Drury, a 17-year-old who will be a senior at Norris High in Firth this fall.

Drury attended the camp for the third time and said he returns because of the counselors.

“They help us grow independently,” he said.

Because of the wide range of disabilities Brune and the 16 counselors deal with each summer, they go through training before camp begins.

“It’s so different from camper to camper. We see everything,” Brune said. “Our staff is very well trained and works with the campers one-on-one.”

Along with the Easter Seals camps, Camp Eagle hosts two weeks of camps for children of military personnel, called “Operation Purple.”