What summer camp would be complete without silly songs and fun games? At Camp M.I. Way, however, the focus is on stimulation, rather than recreation. The five-week camp places a child with multiple impairments with a personal student counselor from one of several HISD middle and high schools.

“Camp M.I. Way gives students with multiple impairments a chance to practice and expand their skills in an atmosphere of fun,” said Deborah Carr, the executive director of Home Run Hitters International, a local non-profit group which created and founded the camp.

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Student volunteers guide campers in various activities that are designed to engage the five senses. Many of the campers, who cannot speak, communicate through moving their head, legs, or fingers.

“They really do have a blast,” said T.H. Rogers Principal Dave Muzyka. “They especially like anything water-related.” Normally, the five-week camp is held at T.H. Rogers, but campus renovations there necessitated a temporary relocation to Grady Middle School this summer.

Students who work at Camp M.I. Way can earn high-school and college volunteer hours. Most, like recent Carnegie High School graduate Daniel Dreyfus, return year after year because of the relationships they have formed with campers.

“They are just really exciting people and it feels really great to give them the best experience they can have,” said Dreyfus.

For more information on Camp M.I. Way, please visit www.homerunhitters.org.