Therapeutic Recreation: Una Students Spend A Week With Special-needs Summer Campers

May. 18, 2009

Michelle Eubanks, UNA, at media@una.edu, 256.765.4392 or 256.606.2033

FLORENCE, Ala. - Water skiing. Boat riding. Fishing. Swimming. Horseback riding. Ropes courses. Archery. All are typical summer-camp activities, and all will be part of the week of fun for a class of University of North Alabama students as they head to Camp ASCCA in Jackson Gap this week.

But all that fun in the sun isn't why these students are headed to camp. Their five days at Camp ASCCA will be spent helping special-needs children and adults as they participate in these and many other physical activities and challenges. Camp ASCCA is the world's largest barrier-free camp and outdoor center for individuals with disabilities. The camp's mission is to help children and adults with disabilities achieve equality, dignity and maximum independence through a safe and quality program of camping, recreation and education in a year-round barrier-free environment. UNA students serving at the camp this week are enrolled in the university's Therapeutic Recreation class, offered through the Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation. The class is designed to show students how recreational activities can assist in maintaining or improving the health status, functional capabilities and quality of life of individuals with special needs. For more information on Therapeutic Recreation or any other courses or activities of the Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, visit www.una.edu/hper.

About The University of North Alabama

The University of North Alabama is an accredited, comprehensive regional state university offering undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degree programs through the colleges of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering; the Sanders College of Business and Technology; Education and Human Sciences; and the Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professions. Occupying a 130-acre campus in a residential section of Florence, Alabama, UNA is located within a four-city area that also includes Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia. UNA Athletics, a renowned collegiate athletics program with seven (7) Division II National Championships, is now a proud member of NCAA Division I as part of the Atlantic Sun and United Athletic conferences. The University of North Alabama is an equal opportunity institution and does not discriminate in the admission policy on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, disability, age, or national origin. For more: una.edu and una.edu/unaworks/.