list
Catalog Number
2024.7.20Description
List of campers and counselors from the summer of 1983, at Camp Sunshine.History
Holland Sentinel article by Cassandra Lybrink, 5-5-2022Camp Sunshine is "an organization that offers overnight camping experiences to individuals with developmental disabilities.
'We started primarily in Holland at Camp Geneva in 1983," said Executive Director Kathy Rohlman. "Our founder connected with parents, who really wanted an opportunity for their children to participate in overnight camp. She was a special education teacher, and knew one of the best methods for special education was one-to-one pairing.'
Since those early years, Camp Sunshine has employed that method, eventually leading to 290 campers and 290-plus counselors in 2019 — over 10 times the 23 campers and 23 counselors that began in 1983.
'We had one session that first year,' Rohlman said. 'Then, we expanded to two sessions. Around 2000, we moved from Camp Geneva to Camp Blodgett, but we still had 80 or 90 people on a waiting list. We found Camp Henry and expanded there in 2014.'"