I had just finished checking Aleck’s giant red suitcase and we were waiting in the airport for the rest of the parents to finish checking in their kids. Aleck was chatting it up with the boy he had met at the barbeque the week before, his energy bouncing off the glass windows of ORD. I almost felt bad for the two counselors, dressed up as Pikachu and fuzzy chicken, responsible for getting these four boys off to Glen Spey, NY. One of the campers looked a bit apprehensive about the entire ordeal, his mom had gotten a gate pass so that she could walk him directly to the airplane. Barely grabbing Aleck’s attention, I asked if he wanted me to walk him to the gate too. He laughed in my face and went on getting to know the other three boys without missing a beat. Finally, I grabbed his little face in my hand, looked at him in the eyes and said sternly, “I’m leaving now and so are you. I won’t see you for 12 days. Give me a hug and kiss goodbye.” He obliged without much enthusiasm, and they were on their way.
From early that morning we were all part of a WhatsApp group text so we could keep tabs on their travels and know exactly when they landed at camp. A few days beforehand Aleck’s counselor, Shlomo, had given us a call and gave me his cell phone number. He told me he’d be sharing photos of Aleck throughout his time at Camp Simcha and even got a chance to chat a few times with Aleck before camp began. Each camper gets their own counselor for the entire time they are there, plus there are so many more staff members that it ends up being three staff per every camper. When I saw the photos through our chat of Aleck with the other kids and staff on the airplane I felt my first tear well up in my eyes. This was really happening, Aleck was going off to sleepaway camp for the very first time. The longest he’s been away from Craig and I was five days but that’s when he was only two years old. Since then he hasn’t gone two days without seeing us so heading on an airplane to New York was kind of a big deal, for all of us. That night I got photos delivered to my phone of Aleck in his cabin meeting the other campers in his bunk. The first photo is Aleck sitting in his wheelchair talking with two other boys who are sitting in their wheelchairs. Forget the tear, I was officially bawling. There’s never been this moment for Aleck where he could sit and be, disability and all, with other boys his own age who have had similar experiences, who have similar physical needs. I knew right then and there, Camp Simcha was a slice of heaven in the Catskills.
On the second day of camp, they brought a giant petting zoo in for the boys, I have a video of Aleck fulfilling one of his dreams of cuddling a baby duckling sitting right in his lap. Aleck and his cabin of boys went fishing together on a motorboat, they took turns riding up in a helicopter, they went zip-lining, enjoyed riding shotgun in fancy cars, and rocked out to some big-name rockstars in the Jewish community. They also did the usual camp favorites like camping in tents, singing around a campfire, making gumball machines in woodworking, making leather bracelets with their names on them, playing video games, and eating as much candy as they possibly could from the canteen. I was hearing from Aleck for the first few days, then, radio silence. He called for a half-second on Sunday night and by Wednesday night I realized I hadn’t spoken to him since. Definitely signs that he was having a great time. When we connected on Thursday, I heard the one question that showed me how much fun he was really having, “can I come back next summer?”. Great job Camp Simcha!
Now I know that a lot of these activities sound like your basic camp schedule. But I’ve experienced a lot of different summer camps and so far, there hasn’t been a camp that truly provides the level of inclusion that a boy like Aleck needs. These camps aren’t equipped to get wheelchairs up on ziplines, these camps don’t have enough trained staff who understand physical differences and can gear their activities to meet the child where they are. These camps often put kids like Aleck in a bunk separate from the other campers, these camps can offer an aide to a boy like Aleck, but without the curriculum designed for a disabled kid, they fall short of a truly inclusive experience. And since this camp is only 12 days, there is one focus and you can see it in the photos and hear it through the fun, the staff is there to give these kids the best 12 days of their lives. When I was at camp it always felt like there were so many rules, so many places we had to be, so many activities we had to do even if we didn’t want to do them. At Camp Simcha, it seems to me that the only rule is to have fun and to follow the needs and interests of each camper. The result is a truly excellent time for this group of Camp Simcha Special kids, and some truly exhausted counselors. For those who don’t know, the word, Simcha, is a Hebrew word for “joy”. It can also mean “to be high, to glow, to rejoice” and is often used to refer to special occasions and big celebrations like weddings and Bar/Bat Mitzvahs. Clearly, this is the perfect name for a place like this.
Everything at Camp Simcha was free of charge to my family. Even the hoards of candy at the canteen or the vending machines full of sodas didn’t cost us a dime. It was so easy for me to smile at Aleck and say, “of course you can go back next year,” with barely a worry for our financial situation while trying to navigate this pandemic. The application was easy, we didn’t need to apply for a scholarship or financial aid, the camp is free to all of the campers who go, and during a typical summer that’s over 400 kids from all over the United States and Canada attending Camp Simcha. Even the flights are covered! Chai Lifeline works tirelessly all year long raising money so that kids like our Smart Aleck Persin, can have the best summer camp experience ever, in addition to all of the other wonderful programming and resources they donate to families like mine constantly facing medical challenges. A friend of mine has been participating in their Bike 4 Chai program years before I even knew that Camp Simcha existed. And just this past week I was asked to speak at an event for one of their other largest fundraiser, Team Lifeline, a half marathon event that takes place in New York City and Miami every year. If I wasn’t still recovering from a hip injury due to running this past fall, I’d sign up myself right now. It’s incredible how hard so many people work to keep our heaven on earth, our new favorite place in the world, running year after year. I hope you’ll consider adding Chai Lifeline to your list of donations in honor of our special guy.
Check out these videos and if you watch closely you can see Aleck in the first video rocking out to music at about 3 minutes, then you can see him for a split second in the second video.