As we close Special Olympics’ year-long celebration of our founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver’s centennial (#EKS100), Inclusion Revolution Radio podcast host, Novie Craven, spoke with Mary Hammerbacher Manner, counselor at Camp Shriver in the mid 1960s.
Eunice Kennedy Shriver began Camp Shriver in her backyard at her Timberlawn estate in 1962. Eunice and her brother, President John F. Kennedy, had a sister named Rosemary with an intellectual disability. Due to their experiences with their sister, they decided to hold a day camp for kids from Washington D.C. and Maryland who had intellectual disabilities. At Camp Shriver, campers were introduced to horseback riding, swimming, canoeing, and much more. For many campers, this was their first time experiencing these activities and learning the skills required to participate in them. Mary and her twin Ann applied to be volunteer camp counselors at the camp through their parochial high school and the two worked there for a few summers.
Tune in to this week’s episode of Inclusion Revolution Radio to hear more about Mary’s experience as a counselor at Camp Shriver, her favorite moments with Eunice Kennedy Shriver, and what working as a camp counselor taught her about inclusion.