The Heroes At Camp Barnabas

For a lot of kids, summer camp is the most fun they have all year. But children with disabilities don't often get a chance to go. The Early Show's Debbye Turner found a couple of "American Heroes" who are making sure every kid has a chance to experience bonfires, sing-a-longs, and the other joys of camp.

Cindy Teas says, "Camp is important because it teaches children independence and self-reliance. But for our campers, it's also important because it gives them a sense of a place where they can really belong, a place that is especially for them."

Paul Teas adds, "We offer any of the activities you do at any summer camp. We just gear them to what the kids are capable of doing."

Paul and Cindy Teas are the founders of Camp Barnabas, a not-for-profit, non-denominational Christian summer camp for kids with disabilities. Eight years ago, Cindy Teas was working as a nurse at a traditional camp when she met a young girl who had lost a leg to cancer. One day, the young girl said that she didn't feel as if she fit into the camp anymore. That's when Cindy decided that there was a need for a place like Camp Barnabas. Each week, the camp becomes home to a group of kids who share a similar disability.

Cindy Teas says, "One week, it will be children with physical challenges. Next week, it will be children with developmental disabilities. We have a week of camp for blind children. We have a week for deaf children. So we try to group them with peers where they'll find similar challenges."

She says it is important for kids with special needs to have the camp experience because "on the inside, in their hearts, every kid is the same. So they should all have the same experiences. Because of the special physical or mental challenges that kids that come to our camp have, a lot of times their parents overprotect them. So I think it makes camp experience even more important to maturing them, giving them self-confidence and independence."

Paul Teas notes, "A lot of our kids, because of how they go through life on the outside, tend to build up a little bit of a wall. And they stay behind that wall, and they're reluctant to let anybody come over that wall. But when they're here at camp and everybody is dealing pretty much with the same issues, that wall comes down."

Campers often attend with their siblings. Julie Savinske and her sister Kate have spent five years coming to Camp Barnabas. This year, they're both camp counselors.

Julie says, "I don't know what my life would be without Camp Barnabas. I really don't. So, I look forward to it every summer. I'm gonna cry…Just being able to come here and be myself for a week. Not have to worry about what the world or anything. It's wonderful."

Cindy and Paul say that although running the camp is often a challenge, the rewards are great.

Asked why a nurse and an archaeologist gave up their successful lives to do this. Paul Teas says, "We didn't give up anything. When you go around camp and you get to see the kids, we're the ones that are the lucky ones. It's amazing to see what these kids go through. And yet they do it with such wonderful attitudes and such incredible courage. They're heroes."

For more information about Camp Barnabas please call (417) 476-2565 or visit its Web site.