Camp SMILE
A traditional summer camp experience for children and adults with disabilities
Through Camp SMILE, UCP of Mobile provides four weeks of traditional summer camp activities for more than 320 children and adults with disabilities. By adapting the equipment and/or the rules of play, our camp is able to offer each camper the opportunity to swim, play ball, ride horses, and more.
Camp SMILE provides more than just physical activities. It also enables campers to meet dozens of other people whose abilities and life experiences are similar to their own.
Most importantly though, UCP’s Camp SMILE offers a rare opportunity for campers of all ages to spend a week away from their families or group homes – a once a year occurrence for many of our campers.
Although some of the campers have no disability, the overwhelming majority of them require one-on-one supervision. In fact, Camp SMILE is one of approximately a dozen camps in the nation that accepts campers regardless of the severity of their disability or inability to pay. Our unique one-to-one camper-to-counselor ratio helps campers adjust to life outside of their normal settings, and the 24-hour per day presence of a registered nurse and paramedic helps to ensure everyone’s safety.
Participants do not have to meet any specific criteria to be eligible for camp, but a completed application must be submitted.
UCP offers four sessions of Camp SMILE. Each session is limited to 75 campers. The cost for the camp is $400 per camper. However, there are a limited number of needs-based “Camperships” available.
For more information about Camp SMILE, visit the Camp SMILE website at campsmilemobile.com. You can also call us at (251) 479-4900 or email Matrisza Alvarez, Camp SMILE’s Director.
