.
Anglers Help “
Camp
New Hope
Fun Day”
Barry
Featheringill
It
was a hot June Day when twenty-six teams of anglers took off from the
ramp at
Lake
Mattoon
in support of ‘
Camp
New Hope
”. With water temperatures in the low 80’s the anglers went
searching for limits of bass.
Camp
New Hope
is a privately
funded non-profit organization that provides leisure and recreational
activities for individuals with special needs such as autism, Down’s
syndrome, or physical disabilities. The camp was founded by families
of people who have developmental disabilities over thirty years ago
giving parents chance to take a break from their taking care of their
child with disabilities.
The
kids were really excited seeing all the fish the anglers brought to
the scales. Many got the chance to see the fish up close and personal.
Mike
and Penny Black,(two on the left of picture below) husband/wife team
from
Toledo
,
IL
won first place with five fish weighing 16.05 pounds. Mike also won
big bass money with fish weighing 4.82 pounds.
The
second place team of Eric Ballinger of
Neoga
,
IL
and Bob Beem of
Toledo
,
IL
(third and fourth from the left in
picture above) with five fish bag weighing 12.35 pounds.
Third
place team of Chad Harminson of Sullivan, IL and
Kevin McGregor of Lovington (fifth and sixth from the left)
with another five fish limit bag weighing 12.23 pounds.
The
fourth place team of Donnie Dill of
Effingham
,
IL
and Bill Leasher of
Neoga
,
IL
(two on the left of photo above) also brought five fish to the scales
weighing 11.02 pounds.
Mike
Black the coordinator for the event presented Kim Carmack of
Camp
New Hope
with a two hundred and sixty dollars (photo below)
Kim
says that all funding for the camp comes from private donations and
they service the entire state of
Illinois
along with having an occasional visit from out of state. The five
county area surround Camp New Hope have campers coming at a very
reduced rate because of the generosity of service organizations and
private individuals along with funding from the Illinois Department of
human Services There is a rustic program which is a camp for the
weekend during the summer that allows parents to drop off the kids on
Friday at dinner time and pick them up Sunday at noon.
Camp
New Hope
is located on
Lake
Mattoon
just north of
Neoga
,
Illinois
.
Activities
available include mini-golf, fishing dock, swimming pool, and a
playground.
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