Special Camp for Kids Founded, Built by Grosse Pointe Woods Woman

Next week, while dozens of kids are shuttled to their swim practices, tennis lessons, soccer clinics and other summer activities, a special kind of camp will be welcoming children into the hands of therapists who will teach them, for example, how to speak clearly, catch or kick a ball, write letters of the alphabet or perfect the skill of balancing, running or jumping.

At the Kids on the Go summer camp the participants are 3- to 6-year-old students who require at least two therapies outside the camp. The camp counselors are speech, physical and occupational therapists who provide crucial therapy during the summer break from school, when school-provided therapy has ended.

Kids on the Go is the brainchild of Grosse Pointe Woods resident Kristy Schena, a speech therapist who 12 years ago saw the regression and financial hardships brought on by the break from school therapy.

The camp, as well as separate courses offered to older children, come at no cost to campers' families, who carry the financial burden of their children's treatment and the worry that they will lose skills during their time off from school.

Over the years, Kids on the Go has grown in every way, from less than 25 campers the first year in 1999 to 165 this year. Campers come from Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties.  works with Schena, giving her a website and other assistance. There is such a need for what's provided by Kids on the Go that there is a waiting list.

Schena says she can't believe how Kids on the Go has grown, but she can believe how much it's needed.

In 2007-2008, according to the Michigan Department of Education, the number of pupils in special education programs was 244,030.

"There are just so many families who need something like this," Schena says. "And the (scary) part is how many kids aren't even diagnosed."

In addition to the camp, the 20 therapists who work with Kids on the Go, head up special courses for a variety of ages. They include:

• Little Sluggers
• Yoga Ed
• My Chance to Dance
• art and music therapy
• handwriting
• bike riding

The courses, which run five or six weeks and the six-week camp are free--made possible through scholarships donated by local residents, businesses and organizations.

Therapists work with the children, using equipment, tools and supplies to help them learn and grow in what they can do.

In addition to growing in attendance, Kids on the Go has added locations to its original and main site at the in St. Clair Shores, where the camp is based. The separate speciality courses are held in Rochester Hills at and in Detroit at Michigan State University's Community Music School. The camp runs July 11-Aug. 18. The other courses run around the same time.

The camp courses and types of therapy have also increased over the years with yoga and music therapy and biking among the newest additions.

Parents, including several Grosse Pointers, express their gratitude for the camp and help given to their children. This year for the first time they will get the opportunity to say thank you directly to sponsors who are invited to an open house August 11.

Since its beginning, more than 700 children have attended Kids on the Go annual camp.

While the program reaches families across metro Detroit it is Schena, a mother of three working from her Grosse Pointe Woods home, who plans the camp, signs up participants, recruits therapists, and organizes parties, fundraisers and regular promotions that puts Kids on the Go and the kids who need it so much in the public eye.

Besides the open house, where sponsors will meet campers Aug. 11, Schena plans an annual fundraising event at Comerica Park that helps fund the camp and scholarships.

To learn more about Kids on the Go, how you can help the kids or how kids can get help, call Schena at 248-967-7917.