Parent and Staff Testimonials

"Aaron’s Acres – what a wonderful place”. Camp has enriched our lives in so many ways. Cordell has grown so much especially in his transitioning from one thing to another. It has carried over to home and school. He has gotten to experience so many different things to broaden his social skills and temperament. For me...it’s the people and the families we get to share with and give support to. It strengthens our own lives. The speakers who come help us to look ahead and get prepared for the possibilities to come. The helpers, buddies and counselors are such blessings. Their patience and loving attitudes are beyond words. Thank you from the bottom of my heart."   (Kris, a parent of a child attending Aaron’s Acres)

"I would like to thank you and the staff of Aaron’s Acres. My son’s handicap is diverse enough, I was doubtful he would ever be able to attend a camp anywhere, let alone enjoy it. The Aaron’s Acres summer camp program is wonderful. I could send my son to camp everyday and know that he would be well protected and cared for. Just having that feeling for a few hours a day for a whole week was a blessing! Thank you for caring for our children and offering such a wonderful program for children of all abilities. The thoughtfulness and caring of the entire staff was my favorite part of the program. Zachary enjoyed swimming and the playground time the most, he is still talking about it months later! Thank you again for all that you do!!"  (Melanie, a parent of a child attending Aaron’s Acres)

"What can we say about Aaron’s Acres... It was the first time I ever took Anne to camp and just dropped her off and left. That sounds so strange but for 12 years I never took her anywhere that I didn’t worry that she would be ok. That she would have fun and if something happened, someone would understand and she would be accepted. Aaron’s Acres gave us that! Anne walks around for weeks prior to camp telling everyone she has a job this summer, that she is a counselor in training. The look on her face when she says that is priceless! She takes such responsibility upon herself and when camp is going on she is so self sufficient in getting herself ready and being on time. For 2 weeks the kid who takes forever to do anything is transformed into Ms. Efficiency! She’s waiting on me at the door instead of the other way around. So we are very thankful for Aaron’s Acres and the Respite program that goes on during the rest of the year. It is one of the best run, most efficient programs I have seen that serves such a huge need in our area! It needs and deserves all the support that it can get!"  (Carol Osenbach)

"How can I sum up Aaron’s Acres and my son’s wonderful experience there in one brief letter? Not only did Jason, who is afraid of his shadow, begin to look forward to and ask to go the camp each morning, but he smiled when “his” Vanessa came to greet him each day. Each and every staff member took the time to say “hi” to Jason and call him by name each time in passing. Considering the number of campers, I was very impressed. You and your staff all took a special interest in helping Jason to obtain a goal that I thought was out of reach in the 2 short weeks. The Pool! Need I say any more? We literally went from screaming, scratching, crying and biting the first day to calmly going into the pool area, sitting in his own pool and playing, actually playing with Vanessa and pool toys, having fun!!! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for taking a fear of J’s and making it a distant memory. For the record? He asks to go to our community pool now....and he stills asks to come to camp too! "  (Linda Kleinert)

"Working at Aaron’s Acres this summer proved to be both a rewarding and educational experience. It gave me a chance to work with children who had a wide range of disabilities and severities. Although, the children that were higher functioning were always a pleasure to work with, the children with more severe and challenging disabilities offered a greater reward in seeing these children gain the most from camp. Working at camp also allowed me to witness the various methods of therapy that children respond to such as music, horses, swimming and dogs. The children often surprised their buddies with their positive reactions to these therapies, like my camper who completely relaxed on the horses or some of the other campers who were able to sit through the ½ hour puppet show – an unthinkable task for some of them. Aaron’s Acres was a perfect summer job for me as a student studying special education. Although sometimes very challenging and tiring, it was quite a fun learning experience."  (Sue Peters)


"It would be hard to use just a few words about how great camp is. It is such a well run camp by Risa, Lisa and all the staff. That is because everything you do from A-Z puts the kids first! They are the reason we do what we do! It is just such a wonderful feeling to see these kids just being kids without any stigma or limitations being put on them. We never focus on what they can’t do but what they can! The camp not only addresses the needs of the campers, but the whole family! The parents can be together and the siblings who sometimes have to take a backseat because so much is involved with the special needs their siblings require can have a special time, too! I can be longwinded and go on and on, but if people want to know the success and the reason to support Aaron’s Acres, the best reason is simply the smiles on our camper’s faces!!!! Thanks again to the whole staff for their care and support given not only to the campers and their families, but to us staffers as well."  (Cindi Rhinier)

"It was truly a joy and honor to work with such wonderful campers for another summer. Instead of focusing on their struggles, we saw the staff work creatively to maximize the strengths of each individual child that we worked with to make their summer camp experience one that neither they nor their parents would soon forget."  (Kelly and Kyle, Staff)