She said her life will be forever connected to Alabama Special Camp for Children and Adults. For 10 years in her childhood, she was a camper at ASCCA. Now as an adult, she is the camp’s director of public relations.“Sharing my story and talking about Camp ASCCA is one in the same for me,” Allison Wetherbee said. “I can’t tell about one without the other. Camp had such a profound impact on me as a child, that it really is a huge part of my own story.”
Wetherbee travels throughout the state informing clubs and civic organizations about what ASCCA does and how children’s and adults’ lives have been impacted by the camp.
Wetherbee’s travels led her to Childersburg on Tuesday where she was the guest speaker for the Kiwanis Club’s meeting.
“We’ve had Camp ASCCA come to speak to us in years past,” said Kiwanis Club President Duncan Crowder. “We’ve been involved with them; and periodically, we ask them to come to give us an update. They’ve always complied and said yes. Through the years, our Key Club members have raised toiletries, soaps and things for Camp ASCCA’s students and members.”
Wetherbee said she enjoys informing the public about the benefits of attending Camp ASCCA.
“My personal goal is to make sure we put Camp ASCCA in people’s hearts,” she said. “That they realize how special it is and how much it changes lives for the better. I want people to care about Camp ASCCA and care about its future.”
Wetherbee, a native of Camden, was born in 1970 without arms and legs, which she said was probably caused by a medication her mother took for nausea in the early stages of pregnancy.
Wetherbee said she started attending Camp ASCCA in 1978, just two years after the camp was founded. She said her first camp counselor was Donette Dunagan Mullinix, who was from Childersburg.
“The friendships that you make at camp are usually very strong friendships,” Wetherbee said. “The people who work at the camp are very special people. They are there to help people like me. A lot of the counselor/camper relationships last for years. That’s one of the main benefits of Camp ASCCA – you learn that you are special to somebody and you are important enough that they care about what your needs are.”
Wetherbee continued to attend camp every year for summer and weekend sessions until she was 17 years old.
“I spent most of my childhood at camp,” she said. “That’s where I grew up. I learned so much about other people who had different backgrounds and different disabilities than I did. I came out of Camp ASCCA being appreciative of what I have in a way that I probably would not have been without that experience.”
Wetherbee said she hasn’t let her disability get in the way of anything she set out to accomplish.
She said she graduated with her high school class without having to take remediation level classes. She attended college at Auburn University in Montgomery and earned a master’s degree in mental health counseling. She worked as a mental health therapist in Russellville for 11 years. In November 2007, she was hired by Camp ASCCA for the position she currently holds.
Wetherbee said Camp ASCCA offers campers a variety of outdoor activities including horseback riding, swimming, canoeing, fishing, arts and crafts, rappelling, zip line, water tubing and more.
“We have the same types of activities you see at any other camp,” she said. “Camp ASCCA services all different types of disabilities. It is open to people with physical or mental disabilities. We make accommodations based on what their needs are.”
Camp ASCCA, located in Jackson’s Gap on Lake Martin, provides therapeutic recreation for children and adults with disabilities. The camp provides weeklong sessions and weekend programs, and serves 6,000-8,000 children a year.
For more information about Camp ASCCA, contact the camp at 256-825-9226 or 1-800-THE CAMP. Information about the camp is also available on Camp ASCCA’s Web site at www.campascca.org.
