Make Promises Happen
The "Make Promises Happen" (MPH) Camp is an inclusive, year-round program of Twin Cedars (formerly Central Oklahoma Christian Camp) in Guthrie, OK, dedicated to providing outdoor recreational and social opportunities for people of all ages with physical or intellectual disabilities. Just like your typical outdoor summer camps, they offer activities such as archery, fishing, swimming, and talent shows, paired with volunteer counselors to provide one-on-one support, ensuring campers can have fun and build lasting friendships in a safe and welcoming environment. As a counselor for the Make Promises Happen camps, I get to meet many new people and build stronger connections in our community. Being able to interact with such a wide variety of people, kids and adults alike is very rewarding. Seeing how much this camp means to the campers and how much it has helped them become more independent is worth every second. Volunteering for this amazing organization has been a blast, and I will definitely continue my journey with these camps.
Volunteering with Twin Cedars is not only a wonderful experience it also has a seamless application process. There are two camps you can apply for: Make Promises Happen, and Camp Sunrise. I choose Make Promises Happen because I grew up surrounded by people with disabilities and I really enjoy my time helping campers. For the Make Promises Happen application you must be at least 16 years old, complete your application, pass a background check, and go to an orientation for the camp (for Camp Sunrise the requirements are a bit different). The orientation itself is a fun experience geared toward getting to know the other volunteer counselors, preparation for the week, and the information to better get to know your camper and how to make their experience as fulfilling and enjoyable as possible for them. My camper was very sweet, involved, and all around fun to be around, and I hope my next camper is as pleasant to be around.
Twin Cedars is very active in Oklahoma community and recently, Twin Cedars held their 2nd Annual Twin Cedars Invitational Pickleball & Corn Hole tournament at Chicken-N-Pickle in OKC. All money raised from the event was donated to the Make Promises Happen program.
“Twin Cedars Invitational is an exciting chance to have fun and support our programs. Both the competitive and non-competitive brackets were fun to watch with lots of exciting matches. Cornhole was entertaining as well with some fierce competition.” Cody Lawson, Director of Community Engagement stated.
This event raised about $6,000 for this amazing program. Twin Cedars believes that everyone deserves to be able to go to a camp and have enriching experiences. MPH will have counselor training at the end of January for anyone interested in volunteering. This will be an amazing opportunity to meet new people and change lives, one camp at a time.
