Camp originated about 23 years ago from the idea of doctors that treated children with spina bifida in the state of West Virginia.  They felt that there should be a place where these children could go to meet with their peers and not feel out-of-place, or be made fun of.

From this idea Mountaineer Spina Bifida Camp was born and is held each year at Cedar Lakes in Ripley, WV.  Children that have spina bifida from all over the state may attend and are able to swim, play wheelchair hockey and baseball, make crafts, have campfires and they even have a prom where the campers get dressed for the evening and dance.

Camp is run solely on monies from companies and private donations.  The campers are charged a small fee and that is on a sliding scale according to what the family is able to pay.  Insurance is the biggest expense.  With supplies, food and insurance, the total expense per camper is about $1,000.

In 2007, they were considering canceling camp due to lack of funds, but monies from the 2007 Drew’s Day 5K event kept it open!   A special thanks goes out to Alyssa Lawson, a classmate and family friend of Andrew Humphreys, the events namesake.  Alyssa created and started Drew’s Day to help the camp and the participants. We raised almost $10,000 that first year, and the camp stayed open!  Last year’s race raised $12,000.00. In 2008, with funds from the race and donations from generous West Virginian’s and others from all over the US, we were able to raise a little over $9,000.  All the money went to fund camp for the children.

Our goal for the race, is to make it possible for all children with spina bifida in the state, to be able to attend camp if they so desire.  It was our Drew’s favorite place to be (and also Ryan Fox-another camper who passed away a few weeks after Andrew).  We would love to see these children have the opportunity to make life-long memories and friends as Andrew and Ryan did.