VIP award winners were celebrated last week on the last day of SCAMP for their contributions to the program. Photo by Megan Kelley.

By Megan Kelley
Editor
mkelley@mihomepaper.com
INDEPENDENCE TWP. — It was another exciting year for Clarkston SCAMP that wrapped up their annual camp program last week.
SCAMP is a yearly summer camp program for special needs individuals ages three and up. The program starts in late June and runs through the month of July.
This year, SCAMP saw 165 SCAMPers and 180 volunteers. Campers spent the summer going on a myriad of different field trips and participating in a number of projects and in house events like talent shows, building bird houses, etc.
“It was a fabulous summer. We had about 30 more SCAMPers this year than last year which is allowed because of our staffing. It’s gone really well, you saw the emotion. It’s the last day of SCAMP and that’s just a lot for our SCAMPers. They live for this every year,” Darnell said. “It really is the highlight of the year for a lot of our SCAMPers. I think it has been a very successful summer.”
It costs roughly $2,000 to send one person to SCAMP for the five week camp, so once SCAMP is over, Darnell and her team are busy raising money to send as many kids to SCAMP as they can.
There are several ways to help SCAMP out throughout the year. You can follow them on Facebook and Instagram at Clarkston SCAMP or visit their website at clarkstonscamp.org.
They are always looking for volunteers and applications open in March.
SCAMPers celebrated the end of SCAMP by having a glow party in the gymnasium at North Sashabaw Elementary School. At the same time, SCAMP held its VIP awards where volunteers throughout the community were recognized for their contributions to SCAMP.
“The purpose of (the VIP awards) is to recognize the individuals and organizations that have really stepped up and gone above and beyond over the past year,” said Amy Darnell, SCAMP Executive Director. “There are so many to choose from, it’s usually very difficult to sit down and actually select just a few. That’s why we created a couple of new awards this year.”

Impact Award – Kylie Krentzin
The Impact Award is a new award this year. It is presented to an individual who has demonstrated exceptional commitment to SCAMP through driving positive change, creating lasting improvements, and leading by example.
This was Krentzin’s first year as camp director. Before this, she was a lead teacher for several years.
“SCAMP is my passion project. I wish I could do SCAMP every day of the year,” Krentzin said. “I love SCAMP and I have been eating, sleeping and breathing SCAMP the last couple of months.”
Mel Vaara Award – Ken Nuss
The Mel Vaara Award is given to the outstanding staff member for the current year SCAMP Program.
Nuss is the current principal at Blanche Sims Elementary School in Lake Orion. He started volunteering at SCAMP in 1993 and his whole family has been a part of SCAMP for years..
“This is a big passion of mine. Everything I do, for some reason, I have SCAMP on the brain. I go on vacation and my wife is mad at me because I’m picking up giant pine cones,” Nuss said. “We just don’t want to keep doing SCAMP, we want to keep making SCAMP better and improving it.”
Smiles Award – Neiman’s Family Market
Ryan Pizzo from Neiman’s Family Market accepted the Smile Award which goes to an individual, group or organization that continues to make the smiles of SCAMPers possible.
“We’ve been working with SCAMP since we opened in 2011 and we don’t plan on stopping. Whenever you call, I answer it,” said Pizzo.
Helping Hands Award – Springfield Plains Elementary first grade teachers (Valerie Rzepka, Megan Williams, Clem Bond, Stephanie Beach)

Valerie Rzepka and Megan Williams accepted the Helping Hands Awards for contributing significantly to SCAMP’s success in the past year.
First grade teachers at SPE have been participating in an ongoing academic service learning project where they teach their students about SCAMP and then create a superhero based on what they learned.
“Academic service learning is a very big part of our community and our school district. Just to be able to empower six-year-olds to make a difference in our community is a big thing for us. One thing we did this year too is we partnered with our basic plus classroom and teacher just give our kids information, knowledge, understanding of their peers that they see in the hallway but don’t really know what kid of questions to ask and notice they might look or act different or learn different and we gave our first graders that tool to ask and be inquisitive and understand and make some new friends in the process,” Rzepka said.
Big Heart Award – Chris Rogers
The Big Heart Award went to Chris Rogers for stepping up to offer tremendous support.
“There’s no one that epitomizes this more than you,” Darnell said
Rogers has been working with Darnell to help SCAMP thrive during SCAMP and in the months leading up to the start of camp.
Bob Brumback Award – The Richey Family
The Bob Brumback Award went to the Richey family for being long-time members of the SCAMP family and going above and beyond to ensure SCAMP’s continuation for years to come.
Friendship Award – Kensington Church
The Friendship Award, another new award for SCAMP, was given to Kensington Church. The award is given to an organization that is dedicated to SCAMP’s success and exemplifies the true spirit of support and camaraderie.