Easter Seals Camp Horizon has been selected by the Rotary Club of Calgary Sarcee to be the recipient of the 2013 Art from the Heart charity art auction and gala.
To be held May 3 at the Red and White Club, the event aims to raise $40,000 to be put towards a capital campaign to accomplish the much-needed redevelopment of Easter Seals Camp Horizon. Namely, the funds will go towards constructing and upgrading the Bragg Creek camp’s dormitories and beds.
With about 1,200 special needs visitors staying at Easter Seals Camp Horizon each year — and about 7,000 visitors total — the mattresses are getting a little lumpy, said Anna Garcia, director of operations for the camp.
The camp dorms and beds were originally constructed in 1965, said Garcia. At that time, many of the campers suffered from polio and came to camp with leg braces and crutches — not wheelchairs. As a result, she said the cabins are cramped. Some of the rooms are so small, she said, wheelchairs have to be taken out of the room once the camper is in bed.
“With no wheelchair in the room, we’re really removing the individual’s freedom,” said Garcia.
The cramped spaces, coupled with low-hanging bunk beds, also make it difficult for caregivers to provide care for campers.
The new dorms will be spacious and modernized — but not too modernized. Garcia said it’s important that the new construction not smell, look or feel like a hospital.
“We want them to stay dark and rustic — how a camp should look,” she said. “Not institutional. We want to keep the traditional camp feel, but be able to provide better care and safety.”
Garcia said the camp has plans to construct two new dorms to accommodate campers. The first should be completed by the 2014 season, she said, while funding is still be collecting to construct the second.
These new cabins have been specially designed by occupational therapists to provide adequate room for wheelchairs, medical equipment and personal care. The dorms will be increasing in square footage, said Garcia, but the number of campers accessing the facility will stay the same.
Aside from the newly constructed dorms, mattresses will be upgraded in the other cabins.
The Rotary Club of Calgary Sarcee’s 15th annual Art from the Heart will be featuring the work of artists such as David Zimmerman, Scot Paisley, Lissi Legge and Real Fournier. Tickets for the May 3 event, which includes a prime rib dinner, are $115 each.
If you can’t make the event, donations to Easter Seals Camp Horizon can be made online at easterseals.ab.ca.
