Kim Higginbotham (shown in the image below) is a former special education teacher and minister’s wife in Karns who wanted to reach families of people with moderate to severe disabilities who may not be able to attend typical camps or Vacation Bible School programs. In October 2015, she started a program called Forever His Day Camp, which is hosted at Karns Church of Christ. Since then, they have held this camp twice per year and it has steadily grown from 14 campers to 60 at the most recent event. They have had campers and guests from ages 2-39 and are able to accommodate those with any type of disability.
What makes Forever His Day Camp so unique is that no camper is turned down because of their special needs.
The program has been able to accommodate those with feeding tubes, catheters, seizure disorders, and more. Each camper has one to two personal buddies or medical assistants for the day, depending on their need. The camp also provides medical staff on site including MDs, PAs, RNs, OTs, PTs, and SLPs. Program director Kim wants every parent or guardian to know that their child is safe and well cared for when they’re attending the program.
Forever His Day Camp is completely free to attend. The only requirement is that the parent or guardian fill out a detailed registration form so that the counselors are prepared for each child’s unique needs.
Because of the growing numbers of campers, this year, the camps will be divided into two groups: younger campers that are 12 and under are invited to attend on September 14th, while older campers who are teens and adults, will be invited to attend on April 6th.
Here are the camp details:
- Camp is completely free.
- Lunch is provided.
- Camp activities include things like scavenger hunts, a sensory-based Bible story room, black light game room, outdoor activities, crafts, a game room, a bounce house, a hayride, and live animals.
- They will have 1-2 buddies per camper and medical staff on site.
- The camp is located at Karns Church of Christ at 6612 Beaver Ridge Road.
- Camp for people 12 and under will be September 14th.
- Camp for teens and adults will be April 6th.
- Sign in is from 9am-10am and pick up is by 2:30pm.
Here is a testimonial from a parent of a Forever His camper:
“Sometimes, I long for a break. At the same time, letting go of control and trusting someone else with your loved one can be difficult. [At dropoff] we walked in the door, and they immediately welcomed my daughter by name!…When we arrived back at the church building, C. was playing cornhole and surrounded by at least five people attending to her needs. She was having a blast! It was refreshing to see and feel the love for my child…Thank you to Karns church of Christ. Your ‘Forever His’ program is awesome and awe-inspiring. These people were serious about their love for others–all others. It showed. It was beautiful. It was a blessing!”
More information about this program and the registration form can be found here. You can follow along on the Forever His program on Instagram at this link. If you’d like to know more about Kim and her disability ministry, you can read more here. You can reach her directly with questions by calling the church at 865-691-7411 or emailing her at [email protected]
