Blind and sighted kids will pair up to participate in track, archery and swimming events. The Foundation for the Junior Blind fundraiser will also feature speeches by Mayor Pro Tem Andy Stern and Catherine Campisi of the California Department of Rehabilitation.
By Susan Reines/Special to The Malibu Times
Camp Bloomfield was quiet Monday morning; its bright green pastures nestled among cloud-topped mountains, only a few staffers and one rambunctious dog stirring in the stillness. With soft fields of grass, rustic dirt roads and a stone campfire circle, Camp Bloomfield epitomizes the typical American summer camp-and that’s just what the Foundation for the Junior Blind wants.
“Some of these kids aren’t mainstreamed, so they are always ‘the blind kid.’ Here, they’re just regular kids,” said Debbie Laskey, vice president of marketing for the foundation.
Since 1958, the Foundation for the Junior Blind has worked to give visually impaired children the classic summer experience of a week at sleep-away camp filled with hiking, kayaking, horseback riding and swimming. The Bloomfield family donated the 40 wooded acres in the Santa Monica Mountains and is still involved in operating the camp today.
Camp Bloomfield will kick off the season with its ninth Summer Games this Sunday. The annual event serves as a festive beginning to the summer and a fundraiser for the year-round services the foundation provides to the visually impaired and their families.
About 60 visually impaired campers from all over the country will compete in track races, archery (with bull’s eyes that make sounds) and swimming events. Sixty to 70 sighted children from local communities will serve as the campers’ “buddies,” participating alongside the visually impaired children. The participants will be grouped into six teams, and the top team will win a gold medal at the end of the day, although each child will receive a medal for participating.
The message of the Games, and of the foundation as a whole, Laskey said, is that blind people can enjoy the same experiences as sighted people. Laskey recalled that parents often hesitate to leave their children at camp for a week, but upon visiting they realize that Camp Bloomfield can help their children begin the journey toward independence.
“I see my child’s future here,” one parent told Laskey.
Sunday’s event will begin at 9 a.m. with a Torch Parade and a speech by Catherine Campisi of the California Department of Rehabilitation. Campisi was appointed to the state government position by former Gov. Gray Davis and will speak about both challenges and opportunities for blind people.
Archery and track and field events, in which the sighted buddies will wear blindfolds to even the playing field, will occur in the morning.
Phil Shuman of Fox 11 News will be master of ceremonies at lunch. Shuman will present awards to a group of 9- to 11-year-old children who made and sold candles and donated the proceeds to the foundation.
After lunch there will be swimming events. Following the swimming there will be a medal ceremony, and Malibu Mayor Pro Tem Andy Stern will deliver a closing speech at 2:30 p.m.
Guide dog trainers will attend the event with puppies to familiarize children with seeing-eye dogs. “A lot of these kids will want to have guide dogs when they grow up,” Laskey said. “It’s like a little person that serves as a guide.”
Camp Bloomfield holds five- to 10-day camp sessions throughout the summer for visually impaired campers between the ages of 5 and 20. During certain sessions, families can attend together. In addition to taking part in typical camp activities such as fishing and hiking, the camp offers training in responsibility and self-care.
Sunday’s Summer Games will be open to the public. Tickets are $5 for adults; children 15 and under get in free. All proceeds will go to the Foundation for the Junior Blind. Free parking will be available along Mulholland Highway, with free shuttles to the camp, which is at 35375 Mulholland Highway (2.4 miles off the Pacific Coast Highway). Tickets will be available at the door.