天美传媒

When most people think of a summer sports camp, traditional games like soccer and baseball might come to mind. But for children with visual impairments or other disabilities, the options can be harder to find.

Seeing the need for more adaptive sports options here on Long Island, , combined her love of sports and passion for teaching to begin Long Island鈥檚 first 鈥攈eld on Adelphi鈥檚 Garden City campus.

She credits her experience as a student at Adelphi with giving her the foundation needed to get a program like this off the ground and with inspiring her to pursue opening her own camp.

鈥淧rofessor Ellen Kowalski told me about the opportunity to work at Camp Abilities鈥� Brockport location upstate, which was the first location founded in 1996,鈥� she said. 鈥淎fter working at the Brockport location, I wanted to bring that back to Long Island.鈥� In 2018, her dream will mark 10 years of being a reality.

And Dr. Kowalski is now a part of that dream. An associate professor of Physical Education, she also serves as the associate director for Santos鈥� Camp Abilities Long Island chapter.

The camp is run entirely through volunteers, many of whom are Adelphi students pursuing degrees in Exercise Science, Health Studies, Physical Education, Sport Management and even Nursing. The program gives them experience working with children of all abilities and gives the campers a chance to have fun participating in sports that often aren鈥檛 accessible to them. The cost of running the camp鈥攐fficially known as the Long Island Sports Camp for Children with Visual Impairments, Inc.鈥攊s about $24,000 a year. Fundraisers, donors and sponsorships help defray those costs.

鈥淓very camp is different based on the location and students, and we build activities around what the kids request,鈥� said Santos. 鈥淣ext year, we鈥檒l be adding lacrosse since that鈥檚 what they鈥檙e asking for now.鈥�

There are now 26 camps, including seven abroad. A few others also use college campuses, such as Texas Women鈥檚 University.

To help the students navigate the field, the activities are adapted to use sound rather than visuals. Current camp favorites among its many offerings include beep baseball, goal ball, tandem biking, basketball and yoga.

In 2016, Camp Abilities had, with 25 children enrolled in the summer program. This year, a number of applicants had to be waitlisted. In July 2017, 22 campers took part in Camp Abilities Long Island on Adelphi鈥檚 campus. Because the camp provides a 1:1 participant-to-staff ratio, the number of campers is limited by the number of volunteers.

The benefits aren鈥檛 restricted to the participants. The camp also trains undergraduate and graduate students鈥攈undreds so far鈥攈ow to teach sports and recreational activities to visually impaired youngsters empowering them to take on leadership roles. Santos also brings many of the activities back to her students in the New Hyde Park/Garden City school district, where she teaches physical education during the school year.

鈥淚t鈥檚 about building ability awareness,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e focus on kids鈥� abilities鈥搉ot their disabilities.鈥�