AUGUSTA COUNTY, Va -- Husband and wife team, Scott and Cathy Balsley have dedicated their time, resources and energy to opening up Camp Light, a camp for special needs children.
“We're going to have good success with it, because we have a lot of people behind us who believe in it,” said Scott.
The Balsley's said they know there is a need in the Valley to help children with special needs.
“It's a great feeling to know we're going to do something great for the community and they're behind us and supporting us. We're very excited about it.”
The camp will be environmentally-friendly and help about 50 campers a week once it opens. The Balsley's hope to open the camp for free to campers, but that can only be accomplished with the community's help.
“We can't do it without all the people who are already helping us and supporting us. They put us where we are today and have been behind us 100 percent,” said Cathy.
The Balsley's have a vision for a place where children can play, learn and grow in a safe environment. They eventually hope to be open all summer long.
The property owners hope they can transform a stretch of land into a camp by about 2015, but during the camp's off-season, they will turn it into a community center, which they said the area needs.
The Balsley's said everyone deserves a chance to go to camp and they hope special needs children will find that place on a farm in Augusta County.
“We just enjoy doing that and helping people. I feel like maybe that's what we're meant to do,” said Scott.
The entire Camp Light project will cost about $5-million. The camp is a non-profit organization.
