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Ramapo for Children
Experience
Bunk Counselor - Summer 2007
Camp Supervisor - Summer 2008
Founded in 1922, Ramapo for Children is a nationally recognized,
not-for-profit organization serving children with special needs and
those at-risk from early childhood through adolescence. Ramapo's
mission is to serve children with a wide range of emotional,
behavioral and learning needs in a dynamic and stimulating learning
environment. They provide educational and recreational experiences
that promote social, physical, and intellectual growth. Camp Ramapo
offers a one-to-one staff to child ratio, activities individualized
to each child's ability, and a supportive and inclusive atmosphere.
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I'm sitting on the taxi-runway at LaGuardia airport in New
York City. It's time to go home. Time to leave this
life-changing experience I've been caught up in these past
two months. I never knew I was capable of all that I have
achieved this summer. This summer has pushed me, harder that
I thought possible, to serve children with special needs.
I am sad to leave my summer colleagues from all over the world,
and heartbroken as I think of the life that many of the
campers have now returned to.
(from my Journal, August 19, 2007)
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I think the differences that so often separate us are what we
should instead be celebrating. Upon my arrival at Camp Ramapo (a
camp for children with special needs) in New York, I was greeted
with many different cultures. I quickly learned to not ignore their
differences, but use them to teach me to relate and communicate
despite the gap. From June to August, I was assigned as a bunk
counselor for young girls from age 9 to 17. Most of the campers were
from the inner city parts of New York City, and sadly, most of them
came from broken homes. All of the campers that attend this camp
have an emotional, mental, or learning disability.
(Click for page 2)
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