‘Fresh air’ & fun

Camp for disabled kids raises spirits

NOTHING IS impossible for the physically disabled kids in this camp.

The inner city kids at Fresh Air Home camp swim, play tennis, golf and hold talent shows at the Southampton, L.I., summer getaway.

“They love it. They start asking about it for months ahead of time,” said Amanda King, 35, who visited the camp Saturday for alumni day and to spend time with her three children.

As a disabled person, she said, “you get shunned and ashamed because you feel like people are looking at you differently.

“This place changed all that,” she added. “It gave me the opportunity to go for so many things.”

Her three children — Olga Dudley, 12, Adam King, 11, and Sebastian King, 9 — all in wheelchairs, love the camp experience, too.

“I tell them that they can do anything that they want. The camp helps with that too, teaching confidence,” the Brooklyn mother said. “They reinforce goodness with all these children.”

“We give them independence and help them realize that they can do things on their own,” said camp executive Tom Nar.

“They gain self-esteem while they’re here and they are able to go home new people,” he added.

Campers are treated to traditional activities like color war, movie nights and outdoor camping trips.

But they also go to the beach, local farms, museums, minor league baseball games and music and theater performances.

The camp has 50 kids, ages 8 to 18, during two two-week sessions as well as one one-week term. All told, 150 kids attend each summer.

The camp started in 1901 after a small group of women got together to help physically challenged children. They rented a small building to accommodate 10 kids.

The camp has been expanding ever since. The camp completed its four dormitories in 2008. The campus now includes two heated swimming pools, an activities workshop and arts studio, and a basketball court.