Celebrating 'Success'
Representatives of Waco Scottish Rite presented Baylor's Camp Success with more than $85,000 in June. The grant was used to provide the summer camp with books, supplies and faculty salaries. Camp Success is a free program offered to children with learning disabilities that have limited their ability to read and is completely funded by donations from the Scottish Rite. The organization has contributed approximately $500,000 over the past seven years.
"We are so thankful for the partnership that we share with Scottish Rite," said Dr. Michaela Ritter, EDD '03, associate chair of the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Baylor.
Ritter said the four-week camp provides intensive literacy and language therapy sessions to children ranging from five to 18 that have been diagnosed with reading disorders or dyslexia. Over four weeks, the children receive 48 hours of treatment after completing an evaluation from Baylor's Language and Literacy Clinic.
The program has grown to 80 children now attending with nearly 200 children on the waiting list. Baylor faculty, graduate students, adjunct faculty and undergraduate students also are involved in providing literacy services to the children.