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Lions Camp Badger – A Brief History
(Prepared by C. Thomas Bailey, President of the Empire State Special Needs Experience, Inc. based on material compiled by Lion David Noteboom, former Facilities Manager at Lions Camp Badger)
Lions Camp Badger is operated by the Empire State Special Needs Experience, Inc., a project of the Lions Clubs International Multiple District 20 (New York State and Bermuda). The camp became a statewide Lions project in 1980.
The program has its roots in a summer speech program began in 1940 by Ralph W. Jones, a speech therapist with the Ithaca City School District. Mr. Jones was asked by the State Education Department to start a summer program for children with speech and hearing difficulties. The program began with 12 students and 3 staff members. They rented a classroom from Ithaca College which was then located in downtown Ithaca. The students were housed in nearby homes. In 1942, a dormitory was leased from the College to house the program. Beginning in 1945, the program leased space from Ithaca College at their summer camp located where Lions Camp Badger is today. The College had leased the property (about 600 acres from the federal government). The camp had been built in 1929 by the Department of Forestry and during the 1930’s was used as a C.C.C. camp.
Mr. Ed Badger joined the staff of what was then known as the Ithaca College Speech Clinic in 1947. He had been a college roommate of Ralph Jones and was a speech therapist in the Binghamton City School District. In 1955 he became the director of the program after Dr. Jones had a heart attack. By 1955 the summer program had grown to 75 students and a staff of 15-20. It was the second oldest program of its type in the nation.
The program continued to grow and in 1964, Mr. Badger, along with 4 others incorporated the program as the Ithaca Speech Clinic, Inc. In 1972, Mr. Badger was able to purchase land in Vermont for $45,000 which was swapped with the federal government for what is now Lions Camp Badger.
The first Lions involvement with the camp came in 1974 when PDG James Dormady represented the Ithaca Lions Club. He became the Building Chairman and was authorized to solicit financial assistance from the “friends of the Ithaca Speech Clinic”. Other Lions who became involved in the camp were Clarence Nichols and Vincent Hawley, Jack Collins, Emmet Quackenbush, Robert Way, Howard Conroy, John Fleming and Robert Uplinger.
During the late 1970’s there were efforts to be accredited by the State Education. There were also efforts to affiliate with the University of Texas at Houston where Dr. Walter Carlin, an early supporter of the Clinic and the organizer of the Ithaca College Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology, taught.
In 1980, the name of the Clinic was changed to the Empire State Speech and Hearing Clinic and Ed Badger sold the property to Multiple District 20 of the Lions Clubs International. Over the years many improvements were made to the camp and program. Enrollment many years was over 100 campers.
By the early 2000’s the State Education Department no longer recognized Speech and Hearing as a disability for which they would support summer programs. The campers became more severely disabled. The State decided that it would no longer support the maintenance of the campers for the six weeks. They also required that the camp buildings become handicap accessible. The number of campers declined significantly. In 2008, the name of the program was changed to the Empire State Special Needs Experience, Inc.
By 2010, it was obvious that the 6 week school based program was no longer viable and the Board made a decision to close the school program and begin a regular camping program of one to two week durations. The first week long program was held in 2011. In the same year the camp was awarded a 5 year family support grant by the Broome Developmentally Disabled Service Organization (DDSO), a division of the New York State Office of People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD). The first session of this program was held in 2012 for young adults aged 16 to 26.
The Board of Directors of the Empire State Special Needs Experience is committed to expanding the camping programs for the Special Needs population. The Board also hopes to expand the use of Lions Camp Badger by other groups and encourage other organizations to operate programs at the camp. One such group, Project New Hope, operates several weekends for returning veterans and their families.
(Prepared by C. Thomas Bailey, President of the Empire State Special Needs Experience, Inc. based on material compiled by Lion David Noteboom, former Facilities Manager at Lions Camp Badger)
Lions Camp Badger is operated by the Empire State Special Needs Experience, Inc., a project of the Lions Clubs International Multiple District 20 (New York State and Bermuda). The camp became a statewide Lions project in 1980.
The program has its roots in a summer speech program began in 1940 by Ralph W. Jones, a speech therapist with the Ithaca City School District. Mr. Jones was asked by the State Education Department to start a summer program for children with speech and hearing difficulties. The program began with 12 students and 3 staff members. They rented a classroom from Ithaca College which was then located in downtown Ithaca. The students were housed in nearby homes. In 1942, a dormitory was leased from the College to house the program. Beginning in 1945, the program leased space from Ithaca College at their summer camp located where Lions Camp Badger is today. The College had leased the property (about 600 acres from the federal government). The camp had been built in 1929 by the Department of Forestry and during the 1930’s was used as a C.C.C. camp.
Mr. Ed Badger joined the staff of what was then known as the Ithaca College Speech Clinic in 1947. He had been a college roommate of Ralph Jones and was a speech therapist in the Binghamton City School District. In 1955 he became the director of the program after Dr. Jones had a heart attack. By 1955 the summer program had grown to 75 students and a staff of 15-20. It was the second oldest program of its type in the nation.
The program continued to grow and in 1964, Mr. Badger, along with 4 others incorporated the program as the Ithaca Speech Clinic, Inc. In 1972, Mr. Badger was able to purchase land in Vermont for $45,000 which was swapped with the federal government for what is now Lions Camp Badger.
The first Lions involvement with the camp came in 1974 when PDG James Dormady represented the Ithaca Lions Club. He became the Building Chairman and was authorized to solicit financial assistance from the “friends of the Ithaca Speech Clinic”. Other Lions who became involved in the camp were Clarence Nichols and Vincent Hawley, Jack Collins, Emmet Quackenbush, Robert Way, Howard Conroy, John Fleming and Robert Uplinger.
During the late 1970’s there were efforts to be accredited by the State Education. There were also efforts to affiliate with the University of Texas at Houston where Dr. Walter Carlin, an early supporter of the Clinic and the organizer of the Ithaca College Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology, taught.
In 1980, the name of the Clinic was changed to the Empire State Speech and Hearing Clinic and Ed Badger sold the property to Multiple District 20 of the Lions Clubs International. Over the years many improvements were made to the camp and program. Enrollment many years was over 100 campers.
By the early 2000’s the State Education Department no longer recognized Speech and Hearing as a disability for which they would support summer programs. The campers became more severely disabled. The State decided that it would no longer support the maintenance of the campers for the six weeks. They also required that the camp buildings become handicap accessible. The number of campers declined significantly. In 2008, the name of the program was changed to the Empire State Special Needs Experience, Inc.
By 2010, it was obvious that the 6 week school based program was no longer viable and the Board made a decision to close the school program and begin a regular camping program of one to two week durations. The first week long program was held in 2011. In the same year the camp was awarded a 5 year family support grant by the Broome Developmentally Disabled Service Organization (DDSO), a division of the New York State Office of People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD). The first session of this program was held in 2012 for young adults aged 16 to 26.
The Board of Directors of the Empire State Special Needs Experience is committed to expanding the camping programs for the Special Needs population. The Board also hopes to expand the use of Lions Camp Badger by other groups and encourage other organizations to operate programs at the camp. One such group, Project New Hope, operates several weekends for returning veterans and their families.