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NewslettersOrnament sales could determine future of Camp Treasure Chest
agarrobo@beaufortgazette.com
843-986-5539
For four consecutive summers, attending Camp Treasure Chest has been a highlight for Emily Marshall.
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Marshall's mother, Allison, says her autistic, 17-year-old daughter loves the field trips to the pool, arts activities and meeting friends at camp.
But Emily, one of 15 children who attend the camp, might not do those things this summer. Camp Treasure Chest will not receive the final $5,000 installment of a $18,000 state grant after budget cuts earlier last month.
In fact, the camp's daily programs might not be offered at all in 2009.
"I don't know what we'd do without the camp," Marshall said. "It's always been there and we've sort of counted on it. There's nothing else out there, really, for these kids."
The camp allows Emily to explore and engage in her community, Marshall said. Camp Treasure Chest is a five-week summer program held at Beaufort High School for physically and mentally disabled children between ages 6 and 21. It is one of the services offered by the Beaufort County Disabilities and Special Needs Department.
Marshall said Emily's mental disabilities prevent her from attending camps for other children.
"This is more geared toward the kids that have disabilities," Marshall said.
The camp has been around for at least a decade, said camp director Erin Womack.
But Camp Treasure Chest might cease if it cannot raise $5,000 lost during the November round of state budget cuts. The camp relies upon an annual $18,000 state grant to cover its costs for the fiscal year, which runs from July to June. It received the first portion of the grant, $13,000, in July. But the second part of the grant, $5,000, expected to arrive in May 2009, won't come.
"This is what it means to cut $5,000 on this or that. It affects people," Marshall said.
The Disabilities and Special Needs Department expects an additional $15,000 cut in January to next year's budget, said director Mitzi Wagner.
"These are the kinds of programs that get cut when there's a money crunch. There's a possibility they could go away," Wagner said.
ABLE, a local, private nonprofit group, has launched a Christmas ornament fundraiser in an attempt to raise enough money to keep Camp Treasure Chest running. ABLE assists disability programs in Beaufort County and has promised to donate proceeds of its ornament sale to Camp Treasure Chest, according to the organization's Web site. The ornaments cost $10 and feature the Hunting Island State Park lighthouse.
"Without the money they raise, we won't be able to run Camp Treasure Chest," Wagner said.
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