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{"id":5942,"date":"2023-06-27T16:07:31","date_gmt":"2023-06-27T16:07:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/deafhhs.org\/?p=5942"},"modified":"2023-06-29T21:29:05","modified_gmt":"2023-06-29T21:29:05","slug":"volunteers-make-kids-kamp-great","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deafhhs.org\/volunteers-make-kids-kamp-great\/","title":{"rendered":"Volunteers Make Kids Kamp Great"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Volunteers Make Kids Kamp Great<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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Just a few years ago, Julian Shellenbarger was a Kids Kamper, eagerly awaiting the annual summer event that has been a highlight of D&HHS programming for many years now.<\/p>
This summer the 14-year-old Northview schools student was back for Kamp, but this time as a volunteer, one of approximately 25 people who helped out with the weeklong festivities.<\/p>
Julian said Kids Kamp was always one of many highlights for him as a young boy, adding that Signing Santa was especially memorable for him. To be back at Kamp as a helper was pretty cool, he added.<\/p>
\u201cIt\u2019s been fun,\u201d he said. \u201cI like to help with the children, yeah.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Other volunteers also enjoyed the experience. Pam Howland has been involved with the Quota Club of Grand Rapids for almost two decades. And for many of those years she has been creating the craft kits that campers use for the annual D&HHS Kids Kamp, including this year making 150 such kits over the course of a couple of weeks and 22 hours.<\/p>
But though she\u2019d supported Kids Kamp from afar, she\u2019d never had a chance to attend.<\/p>
That changed this year when Howland spent a day helping Kamp as a volunteer. It was everything she hoped it would be she said.<\/p>
\u201cAt Quota we get to make a difference in people\u2019s lives,\u201d she said. \u201cTo be here today and see the kids, to see how much they enjoy the crafts, to help out a little bit, this is what it\u2019s all about.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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Volunteer Mandi Lehmann said the same.<\/span> <\/p>\n
She had three kids at Kamp this year, including one Deaf and two hearing daughters.<\/p>\n
Their first year at Kamp was 2018, she said, and they even attended during the pandemic when D&HHS offered virtual camps.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor all three (children), this is such a good experience,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s great exposure and great to have interaction with other Deaf and hearing kids. Lehmann noted that all three of her kids sign, as do she and her husband. In fact, she is nearly done with the Interpreter Training Program at Lansing Community College and after that she plans to test to be certified.<\/p>\n
\u201cA career as an interpreter was never anything I thought about,\u201d she said. \u201cMy career was in sales and marketing. But when Harper (her oldest daughter) was diagnosed as Deaf, I decided to be a stay-at-home mom, and then as we learned ASL, working as an interpreter sort of presented itself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another volunteer for the 2023 Kamp was Leah Kurlenda, a teacher at Northview schools through the Kent ISD program.<\/p>\n
With a laugh she said she\u2019s lost count of how many years she\u2019s volunteered.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo many years,\u201d she said smiling. \u201cSome of my students are here at this event, and I always think it\u2019s nice for them to see a familiar face, so I keep showing up.\u201d<\/p>\n
D&HHS community partnerships manager Erica Chapin said Kurlenda\u2019s dedication to Kamp, and her \u201ckeep showing up\u201d dedication, is a fitting description of why D&HHS does Kids Kamp and other programming for kids and teens.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s in our mission statement, on our website and at the heart of what we do,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have been advocating for the Deaf, DeafBlind and Hard of Hearing in pursuit of all of life\u2019s opportunities for more than 25 years as we work to support an inclusive and equitable community. Things like Kids Kamp are a big part of that, and we love this week with our kids and our volunteers a whole lot.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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