Dillon’s Story
It’s day 1 of the 12 Days of Campmas! 12 days of celebrating our amazing Easter Seals campers – campers like Dillon.
“My favourite part of camp is making the tie-dye shirts, getting goo’d (& seeing other people get goo’d!), dressing up for the banquet, dressing up (being silly), making new friends and seeing old friends, going out at night for pool parties and drinking milk and the Pokemon hunt where we found treasure at the beach.” ~ Dillon, age 19
At age 9, Dillon, who has Down Syndrome, spent his first week of summer camp at Camp Winfield. He fell in love with it, though for his parents it took some time to feel comfortable letting go.
“It was scary as it was the first time he was away from home and by the time our nerves settled down, it was time to go pick him up! It took a couple years of nerves before we could confidently drop him off and not worry so much.” ~ Barb, Dillon’s mom.
Now 10 years into camp they see it as a nice reprieve for the rest of the family as well – where they can all get a little break from each other.
“It’s been amazing – all these years of him being able to go to camp – he absolutely loves it and we know it’s a fun, safe environment, so it’s a WIN-WIN for everybody.”
Dillon loves camp so much that this past summer when we were only able to run day camps, his family drove over an hour and a half every morning and afternoon to take him to Camp Winfield and pick him up. It was some early mornings and lots of driving, but not surprising – Dillon was raring to go every morning and determined to make it work!
Now during the winter months, he continues to join us for virtual art and music classes, plus he’s taking part in our 12-week online Compass Program that guides young adults with disabilities as they transition into adulthood.
Thank you Dillon for sharing your awesome experiences of camp!
Our 75th birthday is coming up in 2022. If you have a story to share about Easter Seals BC/Yukon we’d love to hear it and share it. Please email jfines@eastersealsbcy.ca
