Packages with string...

If anyone feels called to send Gus a package or card to camp, they allow it! (most camps nowadays stay away from packages). Here is the address:
Gus Dinkins
Christmount's Camp Lakey Gap
222 Fern Way
Black Mountain, NC 28711
He will be there from June 10-16 (camp booklet says to send things early)
Not sure what to tell you to send. Maybe pictures? Water toys? Anything that a lot of children can enjoy together? That he can share with everyone. Baked goods? A flashlight?
Your guess is as good as mine.


- Geraldine, posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Last camp test drive day

Yesterday was our third and last dress rehearsal visit to camp (we've been twice before just to get used to the sights and lay of the land) and I can tell Gus is getting a bit impatient with the whole going there and leaving again concept - he is ready to stay and play and play and play...

...yesterday's occasion was that some of the activities directors and counselors wanted to try out their strategies on real-life Autism Spectrum children, and Gus was happy to give them a rough-and-tough version of his idea of what camp should be like.

He plowed through lovingly prepared craft (complete with visual schedule) activities with the grace of a bell-rung boxer, then decided to lie down in the middle of a music and movement segment and be uncooperative until the actual instruments came out...then he was very good and very intent on playing the drum. He rushed through the hike (very well marked and thoughtfully laid out as a visual scavenger hunt) with nary a stop and finally threw all visual schedules in the mud to go play in the creek, while the other kids dutifully explored the garden. He wasn't the one lowest on the spectrum, but he was the one with the strongest, independent will...he listened little and chose to ignore most of what he heard...I worried that we would be "a hard sell" for a patient and firm counselor, but heaven has sent us Cody, a spirited young man, who laughed hard at Gus' antics and quickly learned a common language to share with Gus, somewhere between mud and messing up the parachute game....

Gus is so excited for camp - and I can't believe I'm actually letting him go, without me there to keep him in line. But I trust that Cody will find a way to lasso Gus' energy and harness his bad-boy attitude into good camp fun.

I adore him already for volunteering to be Gus' counselor.


- Geraldine, posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Playing tag

Gus will go to camp with a truckload of stuff - the packing list is long and extensive, if you ask me, but then again, I've never sent a preschooler off on his own before for a week to swim three times a day in between getting muddy, paint and eat food without Momma nearby with a napkin in hand.
He will need three changes of everything - every day.
Among the many hints in the camp booklet, I've been urged to mark and tag everything possible to minimize things getting lost or "being traded" - another new camp concept for us to get our minds around - so Gus and I set out the other day to make simple tags that we will be attaching to everything that won't take a wash-proof pen.
The idea is simple. Print out photos wallet-size, write name and phone number with crayon (Gus practiced writing his name on the other side, along with our phone number) then use contact paper, a hole punch, and some plastic ties from the Dollar Store.

Voila, personalized tags that will help Gus keep track of his stuff.
- Geraldine, posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Brevard

iPad Test

This is a little test to see if I can finally figure out how to post from my iPad and add a picture to it.


- Geraldine, posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Probart St,Brevard,United States

Coming to camp

Yesterday, Gus & I visited Camp Lakey Gap - again - to drop off our BIG check (aside from Gus we have donated $4075 to the camp's scholarship fund, thanks to our very successful silent auction). In return we got a VERY THOROUGH camper handbook with a pack list so long, I'm thinking of renting on of those moving pods - they think of EVERYTHING - humbles me as a mother.

Gus meanwhile was less impressed with the logistics and more focused on roaming around. We've only been here once before, but he seems to remember EXACTLY where everything is and was very impatient to go see EVERYTHING again. Here he is waiting for me to catchup to go see the creek.

On to the playground - again I'm barely catching up, to the right are some of the camper cabins.

Gus' favorite place - the playground, which has a lot of eclectic little playthings on it, like this hand-made ChooChoo, which Gus adores.

The highlight, however, hands-down, is this yellow slide. Steep as a double-diamond ski run (trust me, I tried it, it scares me) and bright yellow. So everytime I talk about "camp" now Gus starts talking about the "yellow slide." Our camp friends already know that Gus will do pretty much anything, if it is followed by a run down the yellow slide....
He cried when I said it was time to leave. He said "want to stay in camp" He won hearts of all the activities directors already by standing there teary-eyed not wanting to leave. They can't wait for him to come back.
We are visiting one more time, next week (Gus is a "practice camper" invited for counselors and activities directors to try out games & plays with)
He'll probably cry again when I say it's time to leave.
But June 10, he gets to stay.
And have lots of fun for 6 days straight.

Thank You for making the first annual Autism Auction a Success!

Dear friend Below please find the latest e-newsletter from Camp Lakey Gap, the camp our first annual Autism Awareness event, supported with a very successful silent auction April 27, 2012. The second paragraph explains just how successful we were, thanks in no small part to you. We are still in awe that in less than 30 days - 27 to be exact - we collected 114 exciting, artistic and unique auction items, for which we found happy new owners from among the 180 people who came to attend our silent auction. We did all this with 2 organizers and 15 volunteers, who covered everything from music, to food, to bartending and gave their talent and time for free - we are very grateful for all of you. In all we raised $5525.98. Wow! As a family affected by Autism, all possible words and pretty phrases seem inadequate to express just how fortunate we feel to live in Brevard, a tight-knit community that encourages us to speak up for Autism and supports us generously in our quest to conquer Autism, one friendly conversation at a time. Since the event, we have been stopped on the street, recognized in drive-throughs and congratulated in cafes, stores and at the library. In fact, we feel so energized and rewarded by the event that we are already planning to hold another silent auction next year. We sincerely hope that you will help us grow this event in whatever way you can in 2013. Beyond all the thank-yous please remember this: Gus and a few new friends (at least 4, we've been told) will spend an unforgettable week this summer at camp - thanks to you. Geraldine, Jacob & Gus Dinkins PS: Camp Lakey Gap is still looking to fullfill more than $40,000 in scholarship requests. Feel free to contact them at the address given below, if you want to help more children with Autism go to camp this summer.

A camp for people with autism Black Mountain, NC Counting down the days to camp! We are one week away from our leadership staff training week, counselors arrive on June 1st, and then our first campers roll in on June 10th! It is really starting to feel like summer is here. At this point we have 6 vacancies, so if you are still wanting to get your camper signed up please contact me soon. I would like to officially thank Geraldine Dinkins for arranging the First Annual Autism Awareness Silent Auction. Geraldine is a parent of a first time camper, and she and a friend of her's worked for a month to plan an auction in Brevard, NC to raise funds for Gus to come to camp. They were pleasantly surprised by the community support in Brevard, and ended up raising enough to cover Gus' camp fee as well as $4,000 extra to donate to the scholarship fund. I was able to attend the event at the Hobnob Cafe in Brevard, and it was lovely. The event was packed! The guests were able to bid on beautiful art, jewelry, massage packages, weekends getaways and more. I was so impressed! Thank you Geraldine for all of your effort! I would also like to thank the Roberts family and their business, Altamont Inspections, for their "Inspecting for Autism" fundraiser that raised enough for a full camper scholarship! What a creative way to raise scholarship funds for a camp that their family loves. Please read on for other important announcements. See you at camp! Sincerely, Elsa Berndt Camp Director This email was sent to ghaldner@yahoo.com by camplakeygap@gmail.com | Update Profile/Email Address | Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe™ | Privacy Policy. Christmount | 222 Fern Way | Black Mountain | NC | 28711

2012 Autism Awareness Silent Auction