"As 79 campers return to Camp Hope for a week packed with fun-filled activities, the Tribune met up with three girls from the Wichita area whose enthusiasm is contagious to other campers as well as the volunteers. Alyssa Trevino and Cody Martin, both from Wichita, and Reanna Zogelmann of Haysville are returning to camp to have fun and rekindle old friendships.

Late Tuesday morning, they are among some of the other campers participating in a morning cup-stacking activity, presented by Don Forster of Wichita, a physical education teacher from St. Patrick Catholic Church in Wichita. Each girl prepares her set of plastic tumblers for the start. Then on cue, using their left and right hands simultaneously, they work in sync with one another to unstack and restack the cups. Their faces light up as the cups bang against the table. There is groaning and giggling and hands go high into the air when the task is completed.

It's a contagious activity and they continue the process over and over, increasing their speed each time. Trevino, Zogelmann and Martin met at camp three years ago and have come back to Camp Hope to be a part of the ultimate camping experience. They have been inseparable ever since. "When we come back each year we can see how much we've grown and changed," Zogelmann said. "We don't think about any of the bad things when we are at camp."

Everyone is on the same playing field when then arrive. There is a feeling of acceptance - an understanding among all campers and volunteers. "We try to encouraged first-time campers and help them whenever we can," said Trevino. "All of the campers have fun," said Zogelmann. "Some just get to do more than others." Some of the campers are restricted due to medical reasons.

These campers are full of energy and go non-stop until the house parents call for lights out at 10:30 p.m. "We have to be in bed but we can keep our flashlights on," said Zogelmann. Gail Moeder of Great Bend has been a house parent for six years. "Being a part of Camp Hope is a captivating experience," she said. "The campers are in their own world and come to enjoy the experience with other campers. They have an unexplainable bond with each other. "They look at their lives short term," Moeder said. "They make every minute count."

Don Forster of Wichita has a personal interest in Camp Hope. His daughter, Sarah, has been attending camp nine years, six as a full-time camper. "She always came home from camp so excited about all the activities and eager to tell us all about it," he said.Diagnosed with Rhabdomyo-sarcoma above her left eye, his daughter went through 10 months of chemotherapy and a solid month of radiation in 1995. Now cancer free and in remission, Sarah looks forward to her Camp Hope experience each year.

When Forster, a physical education teacher at St. Patrick Catholic School in Wichita, applied for a grant last year with KAHPERD, the State Physical Education Association, he had something extra special in mind. "The association was giving out four equipment grants, two with stacking cups," he said. Forster applied for the stacking cups and was awarded the grant, and went to work immediately on his plan.

He called Bob Fox, president of Speed Stacks Inc., and asked him if he would be interested in donating a set of stacking cups for each of the campers at Camp Hope. Fox jumped at the chance, sending Forster the cups and an instruction video.

Using a select group of student volunteers from St. Patrick School, Forster and approximately 11 students traveled to Camp Hope Tuesday to demonstrate the latest stacking cup craze. The cup-stacking activity promotes hand-eye coordination, ambidexterity, quickness and concentration. Studies even show that if a person uses their left and right hands simultaneously, both sides of the brain will be stimulated, building neuro-pathways between the two sides of the brain.

The project not only allowed the student volunteers to provide a service to the state of Kansas, but it gave them an opportunity to become a part of the Camp Hope experience. As Forster's group finished their presentation, campers got the opportunity to give it a try. While some saw it as an chance to have fun, others approached it more seriously. An older group of campers chose to combine their cups and stack them as high as they could. It was a tedious project for all involved.

Others lined up, cups in hand and began stacking them using a rhythm, keeping their bodies in sync with every move. Cups were unstacked and then restacked and campers were eager to start again, building up their momentum and speed. Each camper moved at his or her own pace, taking on the challenge. As Forster and his volunteers prepared to leave, the room filled with cheers and chants as the large giant mountain of stacking cups fell to the ground.

Thanks to Forster and his grant project, campers were stimulated with a fun activity experience."

www.speedstacks.com

About this web site: