By: Jessie Monsivais
The Coastal Bend Surfrider Foundation hosts a swim camp forbrindividuals with special needs every year with Make Promises Happen – a programbrnorth of Oklahoma City that serves youth and adults ages 6 and older with anybrdisability. Make Promises Happen is one of the nation’s largest camping andbroutdoor recreational programs for persons with disabilities and serious illnesses.br2019 is the 20th year for the Make Promises Happen surf camp, and the 15th yearbrfor the Coastal Bend Surfrider Foundation to host the event. Cliff Schlabach,brChairman of the Coastal Bend Surfrider Foundation, started hosting this programbrin 1999. For him, painting a verbal picture of the Foundation’s origins is likebra trip back in time.
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“The first six years were run by my wife and I only,” hebrsays. “The group we had at that time were visually impaired individuals from abrChristian camp in Arkansas, who contacted me one day to help some of theirbrcampers catch their first wave. We came up with about three or four volunteersbrthinking it was going to be a few people. It ended up being a huge bus full ofbrabout 75 people.”
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In 2005, the unthinkable happened: The director of thebrArkansas camp lost his life in a car wreck, and the camp lost its funding.brHowever, Cliff and his team knew their work needed to prevail. They ralliedbrtogether and brainstormed ideas as to how they could continue to help thebrdisabled and special needs families. The Texas Coastal Bend Chapter of thebrMaking Promises Happen project is one of the biggest and best-attended programsbrthey have.
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The Coastal Bend Surfrider Foundation began hosting thebr“Make Promises Happen” camp the following year, and from that point on, thebrgroup from Oklahoma has come down for two days in Port Aransas to surf everybrsingle year.
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About 15-20 campers, each one with a counselor assigned tobrthem, come filing out of a bus for this one-of-a-kind surfing experience. Thisbryear, the surf camp has expanded the program to include campers from the localbrarea. Most of the volunteers are from the Coastal Bend area, and Port Aransasbrlifeguards watch over the group and ensure all safety is taken into consideration.brThe surfers ride in waist-deep water with two to three watermen who help tobrcontrol their surfboards, and push the campers into a wave down the center of abrline of people. It’s an unforgettable experience.
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Year-round, the Coastal Bend Surfrider Foundation receivesbrdonations specifically for this camp, and all the surfing equipment is providedbrby the Texas Surf Museum. The camp ends with a barbeque to celebrate all thebrhard work and fun had by the campers.
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“You don’t know who has more fun by the end of it – thebrvolunteers or the campers. They’re a very happy group and just happy to bebrdoing what they’re doing,” Schlabach says about how much this camp means tobreveryone involved. “Everyone gets a chance to feel the stoke, and that helpsbrall of us. These folks wouldn’t have any other chance of experiencing thebrgreatest sport on the planet otherwise.”
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To become a volunteerbror find out information about the camp, email surfridertxcbc@yahoo.com.
