IFB Solutions marked the 10^th anniversary of its Student Enrichment Experience (SEE) program for school-age children who are blind or visually impaired by launching a new summer camp – Camp H₂O on the shores of Lake Norman in North Carolina.  Camp H₂O, held July 9-15, joins IFB’s other summer camp offerings – Adventure Camp at the Nantahala Outdoor Center in western North Carolina, and Summer Day Camps held in Winston-Salem and Asheville.

All SEE camp programs are designed to provide children who are blind or visually impaired the same summer camp experiences available to their sighted peers. Participants in Camp H₂O spent one week at the North Carolina Lions Camp Dogwood located on Lake Norman.  They learned basic swimming and water safety rules as well as spent time kayaking, stand-up paddle boarding, water skiing and wakeboarding.

Like IFB’s other SEE programs, all campers attended Camp H₂O completely free of charge.  In support of IFB’s mission to provide opportunities for people who are blind or visually impaired in need of employment, training and services, IFB’s A Brighter Path Programs cover the cost of the camps so children can attend for free.  A Brighter Path and IFB’s supporting IFB Solutions Foundation secure community support throughout the year to also help underwrite camp expenses.

“Camp H₂0 is a special experience for these children because it gives them the opportunity and the encouragement to try things that perhaps others thought they were not capable of, like kayaking on their own,” said Anastasia Powell, Program Coordinator for A Brighter Path Programs.  “We want our campers to experience summer camp on the same level of their sighted peers.  Maybe in the past, these children have sat on the sidelines because they are blind or visually impaired, but here they are right in the action and having the time of their lives.”

For more information, visit www.abrighterpathprograms.org