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From left: Joe Spatola; Christina Kinman, Young Life volunteer leader at Flagler College; and Robert West. Spatola and West are FSDB students.
Two local youth were able to participate in a recent Young Life camp, thanks to the efforts of the St. Augustine.
Lions Club. The two, Joe Spatola and Chance Jackson were part of a group of 550 youth attending from throughout the United States, including 24 from the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind. The local boys, both of whom are sight impaired, were recipients of scholarships provided by the local Lions Club.
This camping experience was the first for both, Don Lohr, Young Life volunteer team leader, explained in a report to the local Lions Club membership. “Neither boy would have been able to attend camp without the financial aid of The Lions Club,” Lohr wrote.
Joe lives in Flagler Estates, and Chance is a resident of south St. Augustine.
Joe, Lohr noted, was “able to experience fun like he had never experienced. I was personally able to spend a lot of time with Joe, and talk to him about life, his future, and goals, during the week. Joe said on the way back, that camp was one of the best weeks of his life.”
Lohr describes Chance as “an amazing young man. He is a natural born leader. Chance is striving to be the class valedictorian for FSDB, in 2013. He loves to study and get good grades. He had never been to any camps before. He only started to attend Young Life at FSDB during the last few weeks of last semester.”
Lohr told the Lions members that Chance “helped so much with the two boys in wheelchairs” in every phase of camp life. “By challenging Chance to help me with the other kids during the week, it gave him an opportunity to serve others, and exercise his natural leadership skills. He responded amazingly, and did above and beyond what I could have imagined.
“On our last day of camp, he challenged some sighted kids and leaders from other areas of the country to try and walk around camp, blind folded, with his cane, so that they could experience how it felt to be blind! The other kids loved the experience and were lining up to have a chance to try it out. It was a brilliant idea of his, and provided a wonderful opportunity for others to be able to put themselves in another’s’ shoes. It was a great experience for all of the camp to witness.
“Please know that truly neither of these boys would have been able to attend camp without the generous support of The Lions,” Lohr concluded in his report. “I can truly say that this camp experience has set the stage for both of these boys to grow, mature and know that they do matter, they are loved, and that they are special kids, with gifts, talents and the ability to succeed.”
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