CAMP JAKE’S HOUSE RECAP
On August 8th, 2022, Jake’s House launched its inaugural Camp Jake’s House in Toronto at St. Fidelis School, and Lucan at Jake’s House Community Residences. Campers engaged in a variety of activities, socialized, and had a week’s worth of fun. Each camper‘s strengths and needs were considered to provide a truly unique program dedicated to honouring and understanding each individual. Through a 1–on-1 mentoring, campers were provided the opportunity for choice, given ample transition time and notice between activities, practiced turn-taking, socialization, and the chance to decompress. Jake’s House places as a priority, that campers and volunteer mentors are in a safe and comfortable environment where they feel at home.
DAY 1: SPIRIT DAY
The first day of Camp Jake’s House was spirit day! Campers got to know each other and spent time making tie-dye shirts and played a variety of outdoor sports together.
DAY 2: AWESOME SCIENCE
On science day, campers participated in a variety of engaging experiments. Some of the activities included building, observing and experimenting the science of flying structures. By the end of the day, campers had developed science skills and began fostering friendships.
DAY 3: SPY DAY
A true test of campers’ skills and problem-solving was put to the test on spy day. A variety of obstacle courses, athletic spy challenges and cryptic clues were just some of the activities each camper completed. By the end of the third day, campers were certified Jake’s House Spies!
Camp Jake’s House was a blast!
Each individual came to Camp Jake’s House with their unique abilities. On the first day, everyone met new friends and throughout the week, practiced social skills to get to know each other. By the end of this exciting adventure, campers and volunteers had made great strides in engaging in activities, socializing with each other, and learning and understanding how each person on the autism spectrum shines. Everyone that took part in Camp Jake’s House made their own personal progress and left with some incredible memories.
Camp Jake’s House was a tremendous success. A special thank you to our campers, staff, and volunteers for being caring, compassionate and understanding – and bringing smiles and excitement to Camp Jake’s House every day!
Here is what our Jake’s House family had to say about the camp:
TESTIMONIALS
“I need to say thank you so much for what you are doing… To see him so happy means so much to me. I don’t get breaks often where I feel comfortable with the care he is in, that I can truly enjoy the time.”
“Katie enjoyed everything at the camp. Any challenges she encountered were dealt with compassion and understanding. She can’t stop talking about how much she enjoyed it. This was Katie’s most successful camp experience ever. We are very impressed with the quality of the programming and the staff in particular.”
“Thank you to all Jake’s House staff for going above and beyond to ensure that we, as volunteers, felt prepared and supported throughout this experience… I am overjoyed that the participants have had successful experiences at the camp and hope to be able to make meaningful impacts on more others experiencing ASD through Jakes House in the future…”
