Official OUB Camp Schedule 2024
Valentines Day Zoom Activity – TBA – stay up to date on our Facebook Page!!
OUB Camp Workday, April 27, 2024 – contact Gwen Botting, [email protected] for more information.
OUB Family Garden Day – May 4 at Camp Optimist – FREE families can take home a planter with seeds planted of their choice, and help plant the OUB Camp Garden. Includes lunch.
Staff Training – June 7 – June 16.
Cooking and Serving Camp, – June 16-21 (campers ages 10-17) – $25 OUB camper’s favorite activity – cooking! American regional foods! And a service project to give back to the community.
Discovery Camp – June 23 – 28 (campers ages 7-14) – $25 Science week! May include trip to Calvin College Observatory, nature programs, and much more! Plus little science-y cooking projects! Also available as a day camp.
Family Day – June 28 (Families) FREE Join us for this fun day of exploring fun activities that don’t need vision to participate fully. Crafts, cooking, music and tandem cycling!
Bicycle Camp – June 30 – July 3 3 PM (campers ages 7-17) – $25 Day Camp option. Learn to ride a real bike from people who know how to help any child with disabilities learn to bike. Transportation may be available in the Grand Rapids area. Ends 10 AM July 3
Cooking and Jamming – July 7-12 (campers ages 7-14) -$25 Cooking and Music camp with multiple genres of music and multiple international cultures of food! A fun and exciting camp for all!
Packing Days – staff only – July 13-15 Packing and cooking ahead for our Adventure Trip to Rock Climb and Kayak at Mississippi Palisades State Park in Illinois (NOT Mississippi)!
Adventure Trip – July 15-24 (campers ages 12- 17. Younger campers may be accepted under special circumstances.) – $150. We are working with Chicago Adventure Therapy again to do a rock climbing and kayaking trip, including kayaking and canoeing to camp on a small island in the middle of the Mississippi River in northern Illinois. Includes a visit to a nature preserve, a petting zoo, and blacksmithing workshop experience. A great trip with great people and great fun! Campers arrive Monday afternoon, July 15 and we leave at 9 AM on July 16, returning home on July 24. This will be an AWESOME adventure! Accepting adventurous 11 year olds.
Harvest Fest – September 28 10AM-3PM. Families – FREE See what our garden has produced all summer! Pumpkins, potatoes, onions, OH MY! Includes lunch cooked by campers. Take home extra veg! A fun day to connect with other families with kids who are blind or low vision.
PLEASE NOTE: Our age range for campers has been reduced from 7-19 to 7-17 per state rules. Our apologies to anyone who is disenfranchised by this new rule. Thank you for your understanding.
SCHOLARSHIPS ARE AVAILABLE FOR ALL CAMPS!!! Just ask!
Contact: Gwen Botting, Executive Director Aric Wallace, Camp Director
4175 Westbrook Road, Ionia MI 48846 [email protected]
[email protected] 248-227-9855
www.oubmichigan.org Scholarships are available!
To stay up-to-date, like our Facebook page!
OUB is supported by the Kalamazoo Community Foundation, Grand Rapids Community Foundation, Parker-Hannifin Foundation, Perigo Foundation, Lions Clubs of Michigan, The Campbell Group, Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Michigan Project Learning Tree, First Presbyterian Church of Lansing, Michigan, and many other donors who believe in what we do!
Campers, staff, and volunteers stop for a break on a large rock in Turkey Run State Park.
All OUB Camps include learning skills of independence. To learn more visit our Independent Living Skills page.
See the Registration Page for information and forms for your child to attend OUB Camps.
- A registration fee of $25 (or $100 or $150 where indicated) per family is the only fee required. OUB is not charging a tuition fee for camps, making most OUB camps almost FREE.
- Only 4-8 campers will be accepted at each camp on a first-come, first-served basis. This ensures your child gets the VERY BEST OUB has to offer! To reserve your child’s spot, you must send in your non-refundable registration fee with your camp registration form.
- Please see our Registration Page for the form and scholarship information.
- Need to know what to pack?! See our downloadable Things-to-Bring-to-Camp-2023 document.
Scholarships
Due to special funding from the Elks Major Project Commission and Grand Rapids Community Foundation, scholarships are available to low-income families for our registration fees. Please contact Gwen for more information or visit our Scholarships Page.
Transportation
OUB has limited funds to assist with transportation and may be able to provide transportation to camp for your child. Your local Lions Club, or other local social service club may also assist with transportation funds for your child to attend camp. You will need to contact them EARLY, as many clubs do not meet in the summer.
What else do I need to know?
- OUB Summer Camps will be held at Camp Optimist on the west side of Grand Rapids, MI easily accessed off Lake Michigan Drive (M-45) at 10324 Lovers Lane. This address in the GPS will take you approximately 1/2 mile too far SW. Please look for Camp Optimist signs and a yellow Welcome flag. (not the mailing address; forms, checks, and camper mail should be mailed to 4175 Westbrook Rd. Ionia, MI 48846)
- Campers will be given the opportunity to choose a first choice and second choice camp.
- Most camps begin 3 pm Sunday afternoon and end 10 am Friday morning. Some transportation may be available by advance arrangement.
- OUB Summer Camps are all about fun and education, where kids learn new skills in a supportive, encouraging environment that will help them become more independent, and have fun doing many traditional camp activities, such as cooking over a campfire, swimming and playing all sorts of games!
- Each camper will have a concentrated individualized program tailored to his or her specific needs, in order to learn new or advanced skills of blindness. This includes specific skills needed for children with low vision.
- Each family and camper will have direct input into determining their individualized program and help choose what skills they want to learn.
- Each camper will learn to make the most of their senses, whether it be their remaining vision, or touch, smell, hearing or taste.
- Almost everyone loves good food, but cooking is one of the most difficult independence skills to learn, requiring a lot of repetition. Each camper will have the opportunity to learn basic cooking skills every day of camp, including outdoor cooking.
- Over half of our staff are young adults who are blind or visually impaired. They are the best role models for your children!
- Gwen Botting, former MPVI president, and mother of a successful college graduate who is blind, is our Executive Director, Cooking and Gardening Instructor, and a Camp Cook! She is dedicated to ensuring your child has a high quality, successful camp experience!
- Aric Wallace, long-time OUB camper and staff member, is our Camp Director. His many years of experience with his own low-vision and as a member of OUB staff have given him a unique perspective on creating and managing a wonderful experience for your camper!
For more information on OUB Camps 2023, contact Aric Wallace at:
[email protected]
248-227-9855
Opportunities Unlimited for the Blind’s mission is to building life skills, self-confidence and independence for children and young adults who are blind or have low vision.
Scholarships are available!
To stay up-to-date, like our Facebook page!
OUB is supported by the Kalamazoo Community Foundation, Grand Rapids Community Foundation, Parker-Hannifin Foundation, Perigo Foundation, Lions Clubs of Michigan, The Campbell Group, Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Michigan Project Learning Tree, First Presbyterian Church of Lansing, Michigan, and many other donors who believe in what we do!
For more information on OUB Camps 2024, contact Aric Wallace at:
[email protected]
248-227-9855
Opportunities Unlimited for the Blind’s mission is to building life skills, self-confidence and independence for children and young adults who are blind or have low vision.