Camp brings smiles to kids with disabilities

LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - "I was happy because I love the water," said Camp WACK participant Sierra Martin.

Martin attended the camp back in June of 2010.

The three-day camp gives children with disabilities the chance to water ski, something Camp WACK co-founder Amie Gish said they might not normally get to do.

"It's an opportunity for them to be able to experience some things in the water that they're not going to be able to do with their families, because it does take special equipment," said Gish.

Gish said some of that special equipment includes a sit ski.

"It's an extra-wide ski," said Gish. "We have what's called a cage, which is kind of a seat that they sit in, and it also has outriggers that the kids use, kind of like training wheels, to keep them up in the water."

Gish said while the sit ski comes with some apprehension at first, once the kids are in the water, that apprehension is quickly replaced with something else.

"Smiles," said Gish. "That's our favorite thing about it, and that's why we continue to do it every year."

The camp costs $25 and includes a free lunch and T-shirt. Gish said it takes about $10,000 and months of planning to put the camp together.

Yet, once she sees the happiness it brings to the children, she said it makes it all worth it.

"Once camp gets here, and the kids are on the skis and I'm pulling them out of the water, and they've got this great big smile, and they're thanking me, and they're giving me hugs, that's all the thanks that we need," said Gish.

Camp WACK 2013 will take place July 9-11. You can register your child for any one of those days. The registration deadline for camp WACK is June 15.

For more information on how to register your child, click here.