Summer is filled with fun, family and friends. As the official start of summer approaches many folks are planning trips to the beach, the lake or some long-awaited vacation. When I think of Summer, I think of tubing on Lake Martin at the place I call home.
Camp ASCCA is Alabama’s Special Camp for Children and Adults with mental and physical disabilities in and around Alabama. Camp ASCCA, located on Lake Martin, was established in 1976 as a non-profit organization. ASCCA is open year-round and serves 7,000 persons annually allowing campers to experience activities such as: ziplining, golfing, horseback riding, and many other activities.
I started going to ASCCA when I was 8 years old. Now at 23 with a memorial tattoo on my wrist, my feeling is that ASCCA is so much more than a camp; it’s my home. I learned early on that I am not alone. Camp taught me that I am not my chair, instead I am Shanae who just happens to use a chair, I am able to be who I am and not worry so much about stares or a thousand questions of why and how. Although I am not returning this July, I have made many friends there in the past 12 summers and no matter where I go, in my mind a part of me is tubing happily on the lake.
Camp ASCCA gave me so many memories for which I’m forever grateful. It is my goal to sponsor two campers in my lifetime and give to them something I was given. If you’d like to help a camper and give them the experience of a lifetime, please check out www.campascca.org 
Tell them I sent you!
