CHARLOTTE — The smiles and hugs exchanged between old and new friends best tell the story of the 22nd session of Camp SOAR (Special Olympics Athletic Retreat), which ran June 13-17 at Charlotte’s Levine Jewish Community Center.
Nearly 400 volunteers, including some 100 Charlotte Catholic High School students and alumni, gathered at Levine JCC to offer the sports and activities of a typical summer camp to more than 300 persons with disabilities.
Shelley Floriani coordinates the Options Program at Charlotte Catholic, assisting students with special needs through the challenges of their high school experiences.
A first-time volunteer, she identified the ingredients of Camp SOAR’s successful recipe: “For me Camp SOAR is love and friendship.” Moved by the joy in the faces of her students, Floriani admitted being “equally overwhelmed watching the compassion and joyfulness of their CCHS peers being buddies with the campers.”
Garrett Nowlan, a rising sophomore at Charlotte Catholic in his second year of volunteering, appreciates the charism of mercy that fuels Camp SOAR. “The program is designed so that a friendship is truly made with a buddy,” he explained. “There is a fantastic opportunity for all to compete in sports, activities and challenges where joy is the result!”
For Jason Lowe of Indian Land, a returning camper in his third year, Camp SOAR mixes fun and friendship with lessons of mutual respect. There is “just a lot of kindness all around. I really like basketball and just meeting new people,” Lowe said. “You know, respecting their differences, too, all over … in different areas.”
Twenty-three years ago, this very call to community is what inspired Camp SOAR founder and director Bob Bowler. As a parishioner at St. Gabriel Church since 1970,
“It’s in my DNA to create inclusion by promoting a loving, caring community for all,” Bowler shared. “An acceptance of our population.” In a society still processing the long-term effects of the isolation of COVID, Bowler values the interpersonal skills and empathy at the heart of true fellowship.
Turning 84 years old this August, Bowler draws boundless energy from the hugs and high-fives of the campers and volunteers graced by Camp SOAR’s “buddy system” and its unofficial motto of “loving, caring, and sharing.” His one birthday wish: “To continue our mission – the excitement and joy – and attract even more campers and volunteers next June 10-14!!”
— Jeremy Kuhn
BELMONT — More than 30 teens gathered at historic Belmont Abbey College June 18-23 for the Diocese of Charlotte’s annual Faithful Servant Leadership Institute.
Started in 1981, the five-day program helps young people explore their God-given leadership potential, with sessions on communication skills, group dynamics, consensus building and negotiation skills, planning, ethics, and evangelization in the modern world.
“This year, unlike years previous, we intend to follow the youth participants going forward, encouraging and supporting their continued growth and use of their newfound skills and charge as disciples of Jesus,” said Paul Kotlowski, the diocese’s youth ministry director.
“Faithful Servant is the best way to become grounded or re-grounded in your faith,” said participant Cecilia Dierking.
“It offers an amazing way to inspire Catholic leadership in the world.”
— Photos provided
