SARATOGA SPRINGS — Camp Abilities Saratoga and the Saratoga Springs Lions Club are very pleased to announce the receipt of a $12,100 grant from the Alfred Z. Solomon Charitable Trust.
Camp Abilities will be back this summer for their seventh year. The camp, held at Skidmore College, is a weeklong overnight camp for children and teens who are blind, visually impaired, and deafblind. This camp is a service project of the Saratoga
Springs Lions.
The camp has been operating annually since its inception in 2014 and serves 26 campers. The Camp is staffed with 20 counselors residing on-site, a number of sports specialists, 24-hour RN coverage, and various other staff as needed during a week filled with fun and exciting activities.
The monies will enable Camp Abilities Saratoga to purchase a second trailer which will be used for storage of the specialized equipment needed for the variety of educational activities the campers are able to experience. The trailer should be fully customized and ready by this May or June, well before the campers arrive at Skidmore College for their big week the first part of August.
“The generosity of Alfred Z. Solomon or of the Alfred Z. Solomon Charitable Trust should not be a surprise to anyone in the Saratoga Springs area,” says John McDonald, Board President of Camp Abilities Saratoga.
“In fact, a previous gift from this same Trust enabled the purchase of our first trailer which now is used to house a variety of equipment and the twenty tandem bikes that the campers like so much,” McDonald said.
Over the years the Alfred Z. Solomon charitable Trust has been a very generous supporter of CAS.
Camp Abilities of Saratoga is one of 26 Camp Abilities in the world, it is the only one that is run by a Lions organization, which aids in the fundraising and organization of the camp. Camp Abilities is completely free for its campers, and the counselors, who are graduate and undergraduate students studying adaptive sports technology and education, participate as a form of service, only for a moderate stipend.
Donation and fundraising opportunities to support the Camp Abilities Saratoga are available all year. For further information visit campabilitiessaratoga.org/donate.
“Lions serve. It’s that simple, and it has been since we first began in 1917. Our clubs are places where individuals join together to give their valuable time and effort to improving their communities, and the world. The Lions Club aims to empower volunteers to serve their communities, meet humanitarian needs, encourage peace and promote international understanding through Lions Club,” the Lions website said.
