OBSERVER Photos by Christopher Blakeslee
More than 50 special needs camper and their siblings are enjoying a traditional camping experience Thursday at YMCA Camp Onyahsa as part of Prevention Works of Jamestown’s Kids and Sibs Campout.
More than 50 campers returned Thursday and Friday for the Kids and Sibs Camp at YMCA Camp Onyahsa.
In its fifth consecutive year, the camp, located at 5411 East Lake Road, is designed to give children with special needs (mental or physical) almost the exact same camping experience. However, additional staff, safety considerations and preventative measures are put in place to meet or exceed any special accommodations the campers may need to make it an enjoyable and safe experience.
The mastermind and brainchild of the entire operation is Laurie Reynolds, the associate director of Prevention Works of Jamestown. Prevention Works is the parent organization of the Kids and Sibs Camp, and it teamed up with Jon O’Brian, Camp Onyahsa’s director, to forge a collaborative partnership to create and run the camp.
“My son Luke, has autism level two, and his sister Lilly, my daughter, a sibling of Luke, often struggles with being embarrassed by his behavior or feeling alone, and doesn’t understand things,” said Reynolds. “So this came about five years ago, where kids with special needs – of any kind are able to come to this camp – free of charge, with their siblings.”
Campers at YMCA Camp Onyahsa, eat breakfast, prior to starting their day of camping activities, as part of Prevention Works of Jamestown’s official special needs camp entitled Kids and Sibs. Kids and Sibs provide a high-quality camping experience for children who are classified as special needs (mental and physical), and is free of charge for participant campers.
Reynolds explained some of the changes and programming evolutions the camp has gone through, as well as working out kinks in order to give campers the best experience as possible.
“We’ve added a few new items this year to the camp, like a large, bounce house/obstacle course, and a martial arts instructor to give personal, one-on-one karate classes, on top of the regular, more traditional Camp Onyahsa activities – such as boating, kayaking, swimming, arts and crafts, nature, sports, and camp fires,” she said.
Some of the newer additions to the campout have been well received by some of the campers.
“I really liked doing karate,” said Amelia Bush, a 10th grader at the Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) Hewes Center, and veteran camper of Kids and Sibs. “However, my favorite thing is still riding horses.”
For Luke Reynolds, a student at Falconer Middle School and son of Laurie Reynolds, swimming appears to be his favorite activity.
Luke Reynolds, a student at Falconer Middle School, and the son of Kids and Sibs camp creator Laurie Reynolds, enjoys a swim and flexes for the camera, Thursday, at YMCA Camp Onyahsa during the two day, special needs camp out.
“I love the water,” said Luke Reynolds. “I’d swim all day if I could.”
The collaborative effort between Prevention Works and Camp Onyahsa is a mutually exclusive partnership where the exchange of information, inclusion and a kids-first approach is paramount to the successful nature of the joint endeavor.
“Jon and the camp staff are wonderful,” said Laurie Reynolds. “Camp has made sure that some of our campers who are in wheelchairs have access to every activity, in a safe and fun manner. Camp Onyahsa continues to expand on opportunities to be more inclusive and less exclusive.”
In an August 2023, Post-Journal article O’Brian said, “This is a wonderful partnership spearheaded by Prevention Works. Laurie Reynolds has brought together youth professionals from the Y, The Resource Center, Jamestown Public Schools, SUNY Fredonia Education Department, and parents to provide a quality, traditional, camping experience for youth with developmental disabilities, and their siblings, at no charge.”
For some of the newest staff members, the camp has become an eye-opening experience.
“I was able to work with Laurie Reynolds at a community impact meeting, and she shared with me a little bit about the Kids and Sibs Camp, and it sounded right away like something that would be right up my alley,” said John Kinder, the program director for The Zone. “These kids have a ton of energy. …I wish I could bottle it up and sell some of it.”