Camp Accomplish Empowers Youths and Teens of All Abilities

Registration now open for day, overnight, and specialty programs at the Melwood Recreation Center

UPPER MARLBORO, MD., March 21, 2017—Melwood announced this month that registration is open for its unique overnight and day summer camps for individuals with differing abilities. One of the largest organizations of its kind in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area, Melwood advocates for and empowers people with differing abilities to transform their lives by providing employment, job training, life skills improvement, and recreation services.

Camp Accomplish is unique among summer camps in that it strives for inclusion of all campers, regardless of their abilities. Camp activities include swimming, therapeutic horseback riding, wall climbing and ropes courses, archery, creative arts, sports, canoeing, and more. The Melwood recreation center is a partner of the National Inclusion Project, which works with a variety of communities to promote the practice of inclusion.

“Creating a camp that’s open to children and teens of all abilities allows us to share our message that our differences make us unique and valuable – and that we work best when we work together,” said Cari DeSantis, president & CEO at Melwood. “The feedback that we get from families is what drives us. The camp is situated on over 100 acres of land that provides a serene environment – enabling participants to go through life-enhancing experiences that they share with us each year.”

Camp Accomplish is offered in weekly increments throughout the summer, but specialty camps like the Intermediate or Advanced Equestrian Overnight Camp or the Adventure Overnight Camp are offered only on specific dates.

Teens 13 to 18 years of age have the option of participating in the Teen Program, which aims to help campers achieve independence, develop personal relationships, leadership skills, and gain critical work experience in a fun, safe, and accepting environment. Its curriculum encourages teens to advocate for themselves, as well as prepare for college and ultimately job interviews.

Camp Accomplish is American Camp Association-accredited, and the equestrian program is a member of the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship, an international organization dedicated to the promotion of excellence in equine-assisted activities and therapies.

The first camp at Melwood Recreation Center in 2017 begins on June 19. Visit www.melwoodrecreation.org/camp/ for more information and to register.

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About the Melwood Recreation Center:

The Melwood Recreation Center is a beautiful 108-acre facility located on the Nanjemoy Peninsula in rural Charles County, MD. With a diverse offering of lodge-style cabins, challenge courses, nearly 10 miles of hiking and riding trails, aquatic and equestrian facilities, and a variety of meeting spaces all set in a serene natural environment, it is a versatile location that can accommodate a wide range of events and activities. The Melwood Recreation Center is located approximately one hour south of Washington, DC, and a short, 12-mile drive west of La Plata, MD.

About Melwood:

Melwood is a nonprofit organization that advocates for and empowers people of differing abilities to transform their own lives through unique opportunities to work and play in the community. Since 1963, Melwood has envisioned a world in which people with differing abilities are fully included. Using an innovative and effective social entrepreneurial model, Melwood offers job training, employment, life skill improvement, community support, and recreation opportunities to more than 2000 people each year in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area and throughout the State of Maryland. Melwood operates a training program graduating approximately 100 workers with differing abilities each year and employs more than 1,600 workers annually, including over 900 persons with differing abilities. For more information visit www.melwood.org.