After raising money for several months, Joslyn’s parents were devastated when they came up short to send her to Easter Seals Camp Fairlee for her first time.
Fortunately, a memorial fund established in honor of a previous camp director filled the gap and allowed Joslyn, who has Cerebral Palsy, to experience Camp Fairlee.
“I didn’t have the heart to tell Joslyn she couldn’t go to camp. When I called Camp Fairlee to tell them we didn’t have the money they said ‘she is going to camp so just pack her stuff.’The staff at Camp Fairlee consistently gave me hope,” Tracelle, Joslyn mom, says. “I was just so happy for Joslyn. For the first time, she got to go have fun with her own peers.”
The Bruce C. Jones Memorial Endowment was set up in memory of a past camp director who was killed in a hit and run accident.
Nancy, met and worked at Camp Fairlee together. The purpose of the fund was to help provide camperships to campers like Joslyn.
While Tracelle was nervous the first night Joslyn was away at camp, the worry turned into happiness that her daughter was having a great time on her own. It turned out there was nothing to worry about at all. Not only was Joslyn enjoying her time making arts and crafts and horseback riding, but she made an incredible connection with her counselor, Paola.
“Joslyn uses a communication device and when she got home she typed in ‘I love Paola’. We were all so surprised because no one told her how to spell it. She remembered just by seeing it on Paola’s nametag,” Tracelle says. “She hasn’t stopped talking about camp since she got home. She is telling everyone about it.”
Tracelle and her husband Robert were able to go away while Joslyn was at camp. They enjoyed their time together, knowing their daughter was in capable hands at Camp Fairlee, but were also thrilled to see her face at the end of the week.
