The Charlotte
Vol. 31, No. 8 Elul-Tishrei 5769-70 September 2009
An Affiliate of ttie Jewisti Federation of Greater Ctiariotte
Soaring for the Ninth Year
Camp SOAR Did Not Disappoint
By Diana Ades
For the ninth year in a row, the
Levine Jewish Community Center
hosted the Special Olympics
Athletic Retreat (Camp SOAR),
June 15-19.
Special Olympics is an interna
tional non-profit organization ded
icated to empowering individuals
with intellectual disabilities to
become physically fit, productive
and respected members of society
through sports training and com
petition. Special Olympics offer
children and adults with intellectu
al disabilities, year-round training
and competition in various type
programs.
For those who volunteered dur
ing the camp, from being buddies
to the campers or assisting with
registration, to being coaches and
feeding the campers, this camp
would never have come to
fruition.
The staff at the Levine Jewish
Community Center allowed
Special Olympics to take over the
entire building. The LJCC staff
could not have been more helpful
Action on the tennis courts.
and a special thank you to the
Foundation for their assistance as
well.
Special Olympic athletes from
all over the North Carolina area
come to the LJCC to participate in
sports such as tennis, soccer,
bowling, basketball, and swim
ming and for those five days the
campers also get to enjoy arts and
crafts and social activities such as
bingo.
And for this ninth year,
the LJCC and Special
Olympics was prominently
featured on radio, TV and
newspapers. Some of the
members may have seen
Fox 18 and News Channel
14 around during this spe
cial week. For the first year
ever. Camp SOAR and the
LJCC were featured for over
two hours in various seg
ments of “Wilson’s World”
on Fox News Rising. Our
own Barry Schumer played
a cameo.
Although the campers are
young and old, all the various dis
abilities did not stop
them from participating
in Camp SOAR. If you
could experience what all
the volunteers and steer
ing committee experi
enced during these five
days, you would have
been amazed. The
campers improved in
their physical fitness,
motor skills, self-confi
dence and campers and
volunteers alike enjoyed
Dancing at the disco on the last day of Camp SOAR.
0
Everyone had a chance to go swimming.
a more positive self-image.
Through all the programs that
Special Olympics offers, these
athletes grow mentally, socially
and spiritually and through their
activities, exhibit boundless
courage and enthusiasm, enjoy the
rewards of friendship and ulti
mately discover not only new abil
ities and talents but
“their voices” as well.
Bob Bowler has
been leading this
camp for the last nine
years with Barry
Schumer and it is truly
amazing what they
can do with all the
logistics. How many
times can you feed
400 people while an
indoor carnival is
being held simultane
ously, to be immedi
ately followed by a
huge dance? Well,
Bob and Barry did just that
and the entire Steering
Committee loves watching
them in action.
As a member of the
Steering Committee and a vol
unteer I must say that this
year’s Camp SOAR was the
best yet. It will be difficult to
surpass it but rest assured we
will since next year we will be
celebrating “A Decade of
Camp SOAR” and it is certain
to be even bigger and better. If
you ask most of the volunteers,
they would all say the same thing
- they find that volunteering for
Camp SOAR rewards them more
than the athletes. Some of the
comments heard over the week-
long camp were, “I have learned
so much about life through these
wonderful people”; “I certainly
appreciate every aspect of my life
and realize how blessed I am”;
“This was so much fun.”
Volunteer with Special
Olympics and make a difference
in the lives of all these athletes,
their families, our community and
yourself To leam more about vol
unteering, offering your services
or to make a financial contribu
tion, please contact Bob Bowler at
704-364-5032 or Barry Schumer
at 704-944-6744.
And to put the final touches of
another great year, Kim Jones, a
Special Olympian who comes to
camp every year wrote a poem and
read it to the entire camp. She ded
icated the poem to Bob because
“he spends his time dedicated to
us, his special friends and goes out
of his way to find all kinds of pro
grams to fit out needs.”
Bob, you are here, you are
there, you are everywhere
You are even at dances!
Sometimes I want to shout to
the world
Bob Bowler makes some won
derful changes for me and you
He started this camp so we can
have fun.
Bob you did a job well done!!
There are so many things he
has to do
But the best thing of all
Is that he shares his grace with
me and you! ^
Solo Exhibition
Features Florence
Jaffa’s Prints
Florence Jaffa will be having a solo exhibition of her
art, “My Life in Print” at the Ross Gallery at Central
Piedmont Community College September 8 through
October 26. A reception is planned for Wednesday,
September 23, from 4-6 PM and is open to the communi
ty. The Ross Gallery is located in the Overcash Building
on the Main Campus. Gallery hours are: Monday -
Thursday, 11 AM-3 PM. ^
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Also inside...
Thank you to Sandra and Leon Levine
for their lead gift to the 2009 Jewish
Federation Annual Campaign.
See complete donor list on pages 5-7