AAFS Annual Report 2018 - 2019 | Page 27

The bus dropped us off at the campsite and it was such a beautiful day that once our site was all set up we took the members down to the water to go swimming. We spent hours soaking up the sun and then came back to make some dinner. While eating we noticed that some very dark clouds were approaching us so a few of us packed the van FULL of all personal gear. We were unable to fit the tents in the van, but with some help from neighbours, we pinned them all down to the ground under picnic tables and waited out the storm in the community building. The storm was not letting up, and our group’s well being was on the forefront of the minds of those in the lake community. Some people of the lake community rallied together and convinced the manager to let us spend the night in the community building- It was like having a sleepover in a mansion!

The next morning staff went to check on the tents and they were absolutely demolished, with no hope for repairs. Staff had to decide whether we packed it all in and finished the trip at the clubhouse or found another solution. An alternate solution seemed to fall into our lap, with the help from my mom and other members in the lake community, we learned that there was a family who was renting out their cottage for a very reasonable price, and the owner was an educational aide for kids on the spectrum! They were living across the country so they weren’t able to meet us but put their full trust in us anyway! We spent the second night of the trip sleeping in a cottage. The trip had lots of bumps in the road but the two communities came together and helped create a really fun experience for our members!

Assistant Program Coordinator