What a day!  We had a great time at the 14th annual Buddy Walk.  Everyone enjoyed Brotherhood on the main stage and Rich Birdsall as our event MC.  Local organizations like The Magic Paintbrush Project and Maple Glen Farms: Endless Possibilities provided great fun.  The food was rolling off the line as fast as they could serve it and the basket raffles proved to be a returning favorite.  The walk extended through the zoo with all the animals to see along the way and a squad of excited cheerleaders waiting at the end, congratulating the walkers with smiling faces and shining medals. One of our new special guests was caricature artist Jon Bonfed who was a huge hit with a line that never slowed down.

On the heals of such devastating flooding, it was a privilege to offer The Buddy Walk as a fun opportunity to take a break from the labor of clean up and to strive forward with our mission to raise awareness for Down Syndrome and support our community.

Buddy Walk 2011

Join us next Saturday, the 17th from 11-3 at Ross Park Zoo for the 14th annual BUDDY WALK!  It is a jam-packed awareness event for Down Syndrome and developmental disabilities.  Keeping in step with the past few years, we are anticipating over 1,000 people in attendance for the walk.  With games, interactive booths, tons of food, t-shirts, the infamous basket raffle, face painting, juggling, balloon animals, Irish dancers, caricatures and prize raffles it is going to be non-stop fun.  You do not want to miss the live entertainment: Talking Hands and Brotherhood on the main stage!

$5 and a can of food for CHOW gets you all that, and of course, entrance into the Zoo! (There is no cost to individuals with developmental disabilities)

Shepherds Camp will be one of the interactive booths: featuring two of the greens from our brand new 9-hole mini golf course.  We invite you to stop by… play a few rounds of golf, grab some food, check out the live music and see the animals as we raise awareness and support our local community.

Bocce Bash 2011

In the midst of a very rainy week we had an amazing evening for the Bocce Bash.  The fantastic weather this past Tuesday was matched by the wonderful turn out.  We had over 100 athletes, parents and care providers from the Special Olympics here at Arrowhead for evening of Bocce Ball games.  There were six courts running in addition to our two new handicap accessible courts.  Parents, care providers and our campers enjoyed watching all the games from our brand new bleachers.  It was like having the B-Mets stadium right in our own backyard!

We love partnering with the local Special Olympics teams to create such a tremendous event that is a camper highlight during one our two week sessions of Shepherds Camp.  We are absolutely excited for the big Special Olympics Tournament scheduled for this fall here at Arrowhead.

In the midst of a very rainy week we had an amazing evening for the Bocce Bash.  The fantastic weather this past Tuesday evening was matched by the wonderful turn out.  We had over 100 athletes, parents and care providers from the Special Olympics here at Arrowhead for evening of Bocce Ball games.  We had six courts running in addition to our two new handicap accessible courts.  Parents, care providers and our campers enjoyed watching all the games from our brand new bleachers.  It was like having the B-Mets stadium right in our own backyard!

We love partnering with the local Special Olympics teams to create such a tremendous event that is a camper highlight during one our two weeks sessions of Shepherds Camp.  We are absolutely excited for the big Special Olympics Tournament scheduled for this fall here at Arrowhead.

You Can't Miss'em

Sitting just got a whole lot easier.

The new bleachers have been assembled and are in place.  They are a tremendously visible addition to our program activity areas here at Arrowhead.  One set of bleachers overlooks the brand new Bocce Ball courts while the other fits perfectly by the ball field for a great view of camper games.

Now all we need are some of those giant foam fingers that say, “Arrowhead” on them.  Someone even suggested a t-shirt canon for the Bocce Tournaments or camper/counselor kickball.

What you see, what you don't see!

What you see:

Our brand new top of the line Bocce Ball courts are a tremendous addition to the recreational programming here at Arrowhead.   The new courts are Olympic size made with 6”x6” boards on a level pad of crusher dust.  Each court is also handicapped accessible.  The new courts continue to be one of our campers’ favorites and they make a big statement as you pull in the camp driveway.

What you don’t see:

In just a few days two huge sets of bleachers will be arriving at camp.  One set will be installed at the ball field.  The other set will be installed next to our new Bocce Ball courts!  We are excited to see the huge impact these new bleachers will have on the safety and enjoyment of our recreational program areas which are a big part of Shepherds Camp and our partnership with the Special Olympics.  We are grateful for the funds granted to us by The George A. and Margaret Mee Charitable Foundation which has allowed us to fully purchase and install both sets of bleachers.