| Catch the WAVE Camp offers options for youth with disabilities |
|||
Summer camp is a rite of passage for many kids—dorm stays, group meals, skit nights, dances, and outdoor sports. The same is true for Sac State’s annual WAVE Camp.  But WAVE Camp-ers aren’t your everyday campers. Even though they spend their days kayaking, sailing and water skiing, these are youth who also have disabilities such as spina bifida, cerebral palsy, spinal cord injury and muscular dystrophy. Kinesiology Professor Scott Modell started WAVE nine years ago and it has thrived, so much so that they’ve added a second week of camp. The idea is to give young people with disabilities a traditional overnight summer camp experience while they are introduced to recreation skills they can use for the rest of their lives. Campers stay in the residence halls at Sac State at night and by day participate in a variety of water sports. “Before WAVE, there was a gap in services, says Annie Desalernos (’90, Recreation Administration) of the City of Sacramento’s Department of Parks and Recreation Access Leisure Section, which along with Disabled Sports USA and United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Sacramento sponsor WAVE. “By doing activities they’ve never done before, the campers gain independence, and they gain skills to participate in lifelong recreational activities.”  The results can be just as profound for the Sac State students who work as camp counselors. “It’s a life-changing experience,” she says. “It changes their view of people with disabilities.” WAVE is just one a dozen or so community recreation projects the University supports for youth with disabilities, including WAVE’s winter cousin, Camp COOL, which has campers skiing, playing hockey and snowmobiling. All include partnerships with community agencies. “It’s a group effort,” Modell says. “As a university and as a public university in particular, our role is to be open to the community, open to the public.”  Modell has also seen another payoff: former WAVE Camp campers are beginning to come to the University on their own. Others have gained the confidence through sports to break out of their shells. He talks of one formerly shy camper who came to camp after being paralyzed in a car accident. “Five years later she was competing in water ski tournaments and going to the prom,” he says. “It’s an amazing transformation.” This year’s WAVE Camp is already sold out. For information on upcoming camps, call (916) 808-6017. To view a video with more on WAVE Camp and other programs for children and youth with disabilities, visit www.csus.edu/pa/focus. |
| Good for business Personalized advice for small business owners |
|||
| When small businesses in the Sacramento Region need ideas for boosting sales, for nearly 40 years they’ve called on Sac State’s Center for Small Business. In return, they get free assistance on everything from business plans to how to set up a website. The help comes from students in several business courses. Each group takes on a business as a case study and the assistance can carry over several semesters. Because the program receives support from donors and several area companies such as Union Bank, Bank of America and Bank of the West, services are provided at no charge.  Nearly 3,000 local businesses have used the service over the years, including Carvell Printing. When Carol Carvell bought a small print shop 12 years ago, her husband did the business planning and she handled customer service. After he died a few years ago, Carol realized she needed help if she was to keep the doors open. Her representative at River City Bank told her about the bank’s involvement with the Center for Small Business and suggested she give it a try. “I received a lot of good input from the students,” Carvell says. “They had a lot of interesting ideas.” One project resulted in a marketing plan that calls for her to send monthly postcards to existing customers, letting them know about new products and services. Another provided an outline for updating her website which will now highlight the many awards the company has received over the years along with illustrations of the winning products. Potential customers will also be able to get an online price quote. Besides personalized guidance, Center for Small Business clients gain access to the latest business trends and techniques. “Companies get expertise from people just getting started in business, so they get real cutting-edge information,” says center director and Marketing Professor Dennis Tootelian. “They get the benefit of new fresh ideas for how to operate their business. It’s a good opportunity for businesses to get an outsider’s perspective.” That outsider perspective led Carvell to create a more modern brochure based on suggestions from her small business advisors. “Time goes by and you forget that the product you are using is dated,” she says. It also helped April Mason, owner of Premiere Dance, when she needed ideas to get her brand new dance studio off the ground. “It’s good to have someone who can be objective, someone who can step in with a fresh eye,” Mason says. Among the support her s tudent group provided was research on publications that cater to parents. “They gave me some good ideas of newspapers and parents’ magazines to advertise in that we hadn’t thought of.” It’s a boon for the students as well, Tootelian says, because they get real-world experience with how businesses operate. “They get to apply theories they’ve learned in the classroom for a practical application.” Businesses can sign up for the service by calling the Center for Small Business at (916) 278-7278. |
| Counseling assistance | |||
| . | Many Sac State community service programs offer students a chance to get professional experience, under the supervision of experienced professors. Among them is the Center for Counseling and Diagnostic Services, which offers low-cost individual, couple and family counseling, and counseling for career and life changes. It also offers educational testing and child counseling, providing diagnostic testing for learning disabilities as well as for gifted and talented programs (GATE). It’s located in the University’s Eureka Hall. As many as 14 counseling sessions are offered for a once-persemester fee of $75, with a small additional fee for certain tests. Appointments are required. Details: (916) 278-6252 or edweb.csus.edu/departments/ccds |