Alex’s Camp Story

For 13-year-old Alex, summer begins the moment he hears he’s going to camp. “As soon as I tell him he’s going, it’s all he talks about,” shares his mom, Stacey. With Alex being on the severe end of the cerebral palsy spectrum, Stacey notes, “He’s non-verbal, but he brings it up on his talker and looks at videos on his tablet of the camp.” Easter Seals camp has come to mean something incredibly special to Alex over the years. After five magical summers, it has become a central and cherished part of his life. “Honestly, it’s his whole world,” Stacey explains.

Having attended Easter Seals Ontario’s accessible summer camps since he was 7, the friendships he’s formed there hold a special place in his heart and are something he looks forward to year after year. “He really liked the friends — the people he met. They’re his only friends other than a couple in his classroom,” says Stacey. This past summer, Stacey was moved to see Alex reunite with friends as he arrived. “There were probably two or three that recognized him and went right to him,” Stacey recalls with a smile. When it was time to head home, the depth of those connections was impossible to miss. “So many people came up to say ‘goodbye, buddy’, and ‘see you next time’,” Stacey shared warmly. For Alex, those moments of connection mean everything. “He loved feeling like he belonged.”

Camp is also a place that offers Alex an accessible setting to explore exciting activities, his favourite among them being the water activities—most notably, canoeing. “The water activities, like this year, the canoe—he absolutely loved it,” Stacey says. Long after camp ended, Alex continued to reflect on the experience. “He talked a lot about the swimming and the canoe,” Stacey shares. “Honestly, it was a lot about that canoe,” she laughs. Beyond the activities and friendships, camp has become a place where Alex feels truly understood and supported. Stacey credits the camp staff for helping Alex thrive, noting how well they know him and his needs. “Everybody there was nice,” she says. “The nurses were nice, the staff was nice—he really liked his counsellors.”

For Alex, camp isn’t just a place he goes—it’s a place he belongs, a place that stays with him long after summer ends, and a place he can’t wait to return to. Experiences like Alex’s are made possible by generous donors, whose support allows him and children like him to build friendships and feel a true sense of belonging each summer in a community that understands and celebrates them.