Hope's Crossing Camp Gives Special Needs Children Outdoor Experiences

A week-long outdoors camp that’s changing lives for Green Country children with special needs wraps up in Tulsa today

Hope's Crossing Camp was founded in 2012 with a mission to give children with special needs life-changing experiences. And it’s free to all campers.

It's held each year at Camp Loughridge in Tulsa for kids eight to 15 with unique needs, disabilities and physical challenges -like heart disease, cancer, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, spina bifida and Down syndrome.

Fishing is one of the highlights for the campers and many of them get the chance to catch their first-ever fish. They also get to try out canoeing, archery, basketball and do arts and crafts, as well as swimming and ziplining.

Each camper is paired up with a counselor for a one-on-one experience.

The message at camp is that it's not about what a child can not do, it's about what they can do. 

"She has her own way to do everything and there's a way we can modify everything where they can do it on their own," said camp counselor Savannah Been.

"I'm just a normal kid. I can't do everything like a typical kid, but these people here are to help us and let us be normal for a chance and it's awesome," 15-year-old Owasso Freshman, Jillian McIntosh said.

Since the camp started nine years ago, it's grown by about 20% and isn't possible without generous donors and the time and kindness of the many volunteers.

“It's really inspiring to see all their happy attitudes all the time,” said Kirstie VanBecelaere.

VanBecelaere was born with spina bifida and first went to Hope’s Crossing Camp as a camper nine years ago.

“It's really great for the kids to see other kids that are like them because a lot of kids go to public schools with normal kids and they don't get to see a lot of kids like themselves,” VanBecelaere said.

She loved it so much she came back as a counselor.

“I have always been a very independent person, I don't like to ask for help. So I feel like it's good to see that the kids to see they can be independent when they grow up and can live on their own and go to college and just have a regular life, pretty much,” said VanBecelaere, who finish OSU-OKC’s cardiovascular sonography program next year.

The camp undoubtedly changes the children’s lives and it does the same for the counselors. 

“This camp, it's the reason I decided to do what I do and I can't imagine doing anything else,” said Lauren Lee. “I live for this week.”

Lee has volunteered as a counselor for eight years and she said the camp inspired her to get her degree in special education.

“I went off to college and it was a no-brainer for me. I said, ‘I want to major in special education,’” said Lee. 

She graduated from the University of Arkansas in 2020 and is now teaching and working on her master's in special education. She said the children at camp have taught her the greatest lessons.

“You can take a not-so-great situation and turn it into a learning situation. There's always a way to turn it around positive,” she said. “They see an obstacle and then they look at us like, 'How we gonna do this?' It's not, 'I can't do this, 'It's what are the ways we can do this. The ability outweighs the disability."

The Hope’s Crossing Camp website has more about becoming involved with the camp and how to donate.