GVRA is causing harm to children with disabilities by forcing a late-season venue change and possible cancellation of Camp Dream for some campers. Camp Dream is the only summer camp experience that many of our children can attend, due to their medical and physical challenges. Please take a moment to read the letter from Camp Dream and make your voice heard and sign this petition supporting Camp Dream. Thank you!

Help Save Camp Dream!

In 1975, the Georgia Jaycettes (wives and girlfriends of the Georgia Jaycees) had the idea to build a summer camp facility for children and young adults with disabilities. At the time there wasn't another fully accessible camp in Georgia. Over the next 20+ years, the GA Jaycees orchestrated the raising of
millions of dollars to build the camp facility that sits on the Roosevelt Institute for Rehabilitation in Warm Springs, GA (RWS). In 1996, the GA Jaycettes opened the doors with their first Camp Dream session serving 7 campers. To-date, Camp Dream has served thousands of children and adults with disabilities.

On February 14, 2018, the Camp Dream Foundation (CDF - formerly know as the GA Jaycettes Foundation) received a letter from the RWS governing body Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Association (GVRA) requiring them to become ACA accredited before its 2018 July summer camp dates, which is impractical since the average time to complete accreditation according to ACA is 12-18 months and impossible since the final step of accreditation involves a site visit during operation of camp. CDF began the accreditation process in good faith, in hopes that GVRA would honor the July 2018 dates previously granted in an August 31, 2017 RWS meeting. To-date, CDF is 100% in compliance with the ACA accreditation process.

Despite numerous communications to GVRA regarding the status of CDF's accreditation, GVRA is canceling CDF's summer camp dates at Warm Spring just 6 weeks prior to its 200 registered campers arriving for camp. Camp Dream is working as hard they can to change to a different location, but the alternate location is not acceptable for campers with serious mobility challenges. Camp Dream isn’t canceling, but GVRA is effectively cancelling summer camp for kids with serious challenges, most of whom will not be accepted into other programs, due to the severity of their disabilities, their age or program availability.

Does this feel like a case of big government squeezing out the little guy to you? Does this feel like our state leaders not really caring about their constituents with disabilities? It certainly does to us. We ask for all those concerned to make your voice heard by letting Director Sean Casey at GVRA know how you feel. You can reach him at 404-232-1998 or sean.casey@ablegeorgia.ga.gov