Camp Wamp Goes On The Road | Coronado Island News | coronadonewsca.com – Coronado Eagle and Journal

Five friends will be taking the Camp Wamp experience to disabled kids in 16 cities with Camp Wamp Across America. For a second year in a row, Camp Wamp, a camp for disabled children funded by the Stephen J. Wampler Foundation will not take place at its usual location in the High Sierras. Instead Stephen Wamplers son Joseph Wampler and his friends will take the camp on the road, via a 31-foot RV.

Stephen Wampler, who was born with cerebral palsy, created the Wampler Foundation with his wife Elizabeth in 2002. By 2004 they opened Camp Wamp, a sleep away camp for disabled children based on the Wampler Way, a philosophy focusing on optimism and celebrating beauty around disability. As a child, Stephen Wampler attended a camp for disabled children that changed his life.

Joseph Wampler, who has worked at the Camp Wamp, and four of his friends will spend their summer from June 1 to Aug. 1 traveling the country giving children with disabilities unique experiences and filming the process and creating short films. Joseph said the idea started when he surprised his parents with TikTok videos, making disability an integral part of them and creating a presence on social media for the foundation. The five of us talked about doing something about disabilities and a road trip, he said.

In addition to Joseph, his friends taking part in Camp Wamp Across America are Elliot Calfrank, 20, Jonathan Mehki, 20, Lance Mann, 20, and Sean OConnor, 19. All are all college students. After contacting pro baseball and football teams to ask for their assistance with this projects, and receiving positive responses, the five started planning.

Sponsored by ESET, a cyber security company, the five will travel 11,000 miles around the U.S. serving the same amount of campers as Camp Wamp. They will give four kids in each of the 16 cities an experience to remember.

We have been supportive of the Wampler Foundation for 14 years, starting with the climb at El Capitan and the opportunity presented itself to support them again and carry on this incredible initiative, said ESET North America President Brent McCarty.

The first stop after leaving Coronado on June 1, is in Los Angeles where they will bring a camper to the Dodgers game, followed by stops in Seattle and Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The road trip, the experiences of the disabled kids and everything in between will be filmed and posted on Youtube and social media outlets so everyone can follow this journey and have a better understanding of disabilities.

Mehki explained that in Seattle the experience will start with a seaplane ride, followed by a picnic with the Seattle Mariners and time at the ballpark. My plan is to set up interviews with kids, talk about who they are, how they live with their disabilities, he explained.

The five also plan to ask questions that have not been asked before, during the one on one interviews and hope to take the sadness out of the disability they deal with, explained Joseph.

Were stoked and happy to give them the best day of their lives, said Mehki.

The whole idea of the show is to take the fear for a mom who has a kid with disabilities and advancing this idea, explained Elizebeth Wampler.

Another unforgettable experience will be in Denver, where the five will take the kids to the Broncos stadium, do a photo shoot with Broncos cheerleaders, have a private tour of the stadium and play games with the team.

We make the kids the focal point, said Mann.

In Boston, kids will get to participate in outrigger races with Harvard athletes and then catch the Boston vs. New York game at Fenway Park.

The five friends trip will end at Camp Wamp where it all started.

Children who will be part of the experiences range in age from 8 to 18 and have a full range of disabilities, mostly physical, and will include one child with Down Syndrome, something Joseph Wampler said, he doesnt have a lot of experience with working at the camp over the years.

The five explained that when people are not familiar with a disabled person they may feel uncomfortable talking to them, but the goal of their films is to also make people watching be more comfortable.

We want to destigmatize disabilities; they are normal people, treat them the same you treat others, said Calfrank, who is the cameraman and videographer on the trip. The films will give an insight into creating a connection with the disabled.

Here is how you interact and approach them and have a conversation, said Joseph.

Not walking on eggshells, added Mehki.

In the past people have not been ready to a have a conversation about disability. Now they are all over it, said Joseph Wampler.

The friends had a lot to share about the upcoming trip. This bridges all gaps in human interaction. Disability is a basic platform everybody can get behind, no politics, said Mann.

No one has done it before, said Calfrank. Wherever you are I hope people will enjoy the content[we want to] keep people engaged during our road trip.

Videos of the trip will be posted on TikTok and Instagram. Longer videos will be available on Youtube. All videos will be under the handle: the.wampler.way.

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Camp Wamp Goes On The Road | Coronado Island News | coronadonewsca.com - Coronado Eagle and Journal