Mark Chibis
Vounteer Staff

My name is Mark of Mark and Ruth...... and I am sure that I am the most fortunate man in the world. Ruth and I have had a life blessed with incredible adventure, abundant laughter, and unending love. And speaking of adventure, laughter, and love, well that is exactly what VAAC Camp is all about.

Our part of the VAAC Camp story began in rural Ohio where I was a Psychology major at Ohio State, and Ruth studied Nursing. Somehow we started our first company, (building single family homes), before we were out of college. And then "sold-out" in our early 20's. We came to Florida for a 6 month honeymoon, but God had a better plan, and in the end, we never left.

Not long after our arrival, through a series of unusual circumstances, we found a fabulous organization called UCP, met an incredible young man named Dr. Simpser, and fell in love with a 2 year old ventilator dependent child named DJ. In a matter of weeks, we were able to be a part of, what has become known as the UCP Baby House. Then, with special permission from the Governor, we were able to bring little DJ "home" from Miami Children's Hospital.. He was such a delight. Intelligent, funny, sweet, kind, and yet like so many of our kids, locked in a body that just didn't work to its full capacity. Dr. Simpser patiently taught us how to care for his medical needs ( vents were very new and scary to us ). But it soon became apparent to all, that there was a lot more to life than just staying healthy. We began to stop talking about what our "kids" couldn't do and started dreaming about what they could do.

And out of that new mind set we began to think and then dream about giving our special needs kids, a life worth living. It was all new territory. Disney with a vent and a G-tube. A Ferris wheel ride with an ambu-bag. An airplane ride with a suction machine and a wheel chair. And swimming with a trach! In the middle of all of this was Dr. Simpser who kept saying, "why not?", " lets try it", and, "it's worth a shot". Life, lived to its fullest, became the goal. And out of that great desire VACC camp was born.

Imagine it. One week, set apart for our kids, to just have fun. What would we do? What could we do? Where would we do it? Who would help? Those same questions that were asked almost 25 years ago, are still being answered by a group of the most amazing people that I have ever known. Medical and non-medical, young and old, staff and volunteers. And perhaps most important of all, the PAL's. These teenagers and young adults who give all that they have, and all that they are, to our kids. So that our kids, can then be more than they ever dreamed they could be.

What started as a thought, an idea, and then a dream in Dr. Simpser’s heart, has now blossomed into something that you have to be a part of, to even begin to understand.

Camp was always a yearly highlight for DJ, Ruth and myself. And then? Well, sometimes, time runs out. It did for DJ. He was almost 12 and we knew that our precious little boy was about to pass from this life, to a place of more wonder than he had ever known. A place that was even more incredible than Camp. And as we held him and cried, once again Dr. Simpser was there for him, and for us.

The following year, camp was just too hard for Ruth and I, without DJ. But you couldn't have kept the rest of our kids away for anything. You see Camp is more than a destination. What it really is, is a place of transformation. A place of wonder, a place of healing, a place of laughter, and a place of hope. It is a place where dreams come true, one heart at a time. A place where anything is possible.

So come and see it. Come and feel it. Come and experience it. Come and be changed. For our family----Ruth, DJ, Stephonne (still the king of camp), Debbie, Sybille, Peter, Kenny, Jackie, & Eric, there is no place like it in the whole wide world. And as a Dad, a staff volunteer, and a camper, I am honored to be part of it.

Camp is one week of selfless living, unending giving, and constant wonder. Life as it should be lived, lived for others.

As Always
Much Thanks
Mark & Ruth & Zoo