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Camp Greentop celebrates long-running camp for disabled

Frederick News-Post - 8/28/2016

Aug. 28--Catoctin Mountain Park celebrated a decades-long partnership with the League for People with Disabilities at Camp Greentop on Saturday afternoon.

The league's program at Camp Greentop is one of the oldest residential camps in the country, according to the league.

The organization provides children and adults who have physical, emotional, cognitive and multiple disabilities with recreational and therapeutic programs.

Raeann Robisch, a 21-year-old Monrovia resident, is living with autism. She attended one of the league's summer camps last year, where campers swam, hiked, cooked, watched movies and fed horses.

"Making new friends and having fun was basically what I liked the most," she said.

The league started the camp at Catoctin Mountain Park in 1937.

"Back in 1937, we were working mostly with kids with polio," said Bill Morgan, vice president of recreation and fitness for the league.

On Saturday, visitors to Camp Greentop saw photos from the league's nearly 80 years of summer programs at the park.

"People were surprised about the long-term partnership, or the relationship, that we've had with the park," Morgan said.

Bekah Carmichael, a longtime volunteer with the league's summer programs, said she heard from visitors who were interested in the services the league provides and wanted to know how they could get involved.

When the league hosts a summer program at Camp Greentop, Carmichael said they also rent out more camping spaces in nearby parts of the park.

"We actually overflow this space," she said, gesturing to the cabins and buildings at Camp Greentop.

Camp Greentop has beds for 140 people in addition to a dining hall and recreation hall.

The league's staff are generally able to provide one-to-one support for campers, Morgan said.

He doesn't expect any big changes for their programs in the coming year.

"A lot of things are similar, but we're always figuring out how we can better serve the population that we're working with," he said.

The League for People with Disabilities open house was part of a larger centennial event for the National Park Service at Catoctin Mountain Park.

Robisch sang the national anthem to kick off the centennial event Saturday afternoon.

"She's been singing all her life really; that's one activity that she's always been pretty good at," said Ron Robisch, her father.

The park partnered with the Catoctin Forest Alliance to recognize important eras in Catoctin Mountain's history through craft demonstrations, the league's photo exhibit, a reunion for the Frederick County Outdoor School program and demonstrations from local Boy Scout troops.

Catoctin Mountain Park Superintendent Rick Slade said he heard from a few visitors who got to know the park years ago through one program or another.

"People were blown away by how little it's changed," he said.

About 200 people attended the events at Camp Greentop on Saturday.

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(c)2016 The Frederick News-Post (Frederick, Md.)

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