Totus Tuus camp for persons with special needs had special helpers this year

This year’s Totus Tuus camp for children with special needs had two extra-special participants.

Baylee Holmes, the program coordinator for the Ministry with Persons with Disabilities, said the camp had two Peer Role Models in addition to the seven participants.

The campers are youth ages 8 to 14, she said. “The Peer Role Models came back to help campers learn the structure of the camp and how to participate. They are individuals with disabilities themselves and have been to Totus Tuus before and came back to help.”

They helped with tasks such as passing out items, ensuring that activities were ready to go, and cleaning up.

Totus Tuus parish teams also took part in the camp, helping with craft activities, leading singing, and assisting the campers on the playground during the week. “I think we had five different Totus Tuus teams and they were all fantastic,” Holmes said.

The teams were able to work with the campers one-on-one or several-on-one depending on how profound the intellectual or developmental needs.

In addition to taking part in Mass and discussion about the Mass, the campers visited a Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Atrium where they had an opportunity for hands-on activities related to their faith.