SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – Notre Dame College Athletics and Notre Dame College hosted the fourth annual iCan Bike camp June 23-27. The camp helps children with special needs learn to ride conventional bicycles.
The campers who are aged from 8-19 and suffer disabilities that include cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, autism and a prosthetic leg, among others-will become self-sufficient on two-wheelers within one week during the program at Notre Dame College.
The camp, which is based in Murphy Gymnasium, attracts over 50 volunteers to campus who commit time to teach the campers to ride. Many of the volunteers are student-athletes and coaches for the Falcons.
This years camp was a huge success with 25 campers training for 75-minutes, five days a week-with the same volunteer weeklong. The campers generally begin riding conventional two-wheelers in the third and fourth sessions of the camp, with 90 percent of the campers learning to ride independently by the end of the program.
One of this year's volunteers was Women's Swimming student-athlete and SAAC executive board member Jessie Drogemuller. "It's really great to see their improvement every day," Drogemuller said.
The camp liaison for Notre Dame College is Manager of Athletic Operations Jason Baxter. "We attribute the higher-than-average success rate for our camp to the dedicated group of volunteers who help out year after year. They are passionate people who come in with a positive attitude, ready and willing to help the participants in any way they can," said Baxter.
