Jacksonville, FL – The Jacksonville Regional Office of Catholic Charities Bureau will break ground for a new Aquatic Center on Tuesday, May 23, at 9:30 a.m. The ceremony will take place at Camp St. Johns – the location of Camp I Am Special Summer Camp, 235 Marywood Drive, Saint Johns (32259).

Participating in the groundbreaking is Bishop Emeritus John J. Snyder, local dignitaries, and the parent of a camper. A site tour will also be provided.

Last fall, Catholic Charities launched a campaign to raise funds for the Aquatic Center. They are currently at 70 percent of their goal.

Camp I Am Special, established in 1983, offers one-week overnight camp experiences to children and adults with physical, emotional, developmental and behavior-related disabilities. There are seven sessions of camp each summer for 238 campers. It is staffed by 350 volunteers, who donate more than 50-thousand hours each summer.

Campers are paired during the week with teenage buddies, who care for them and help them get the most out of camp, which includes riding horses, fishing, making arts and crafts, performing in talent shows, and, of course – swimming.

The new Aquatic Center is fully handicap-accessible with a “zero-entry” graduated access from the shallow end, and other specifically designed features to accommodate the needs of campers. The new pool will be able to accommodate 75 swimmers at a time. The Aquatics Center will also feature restrooms and a shaded pavilion area.

“We have so many campers that this is the only chance they get to swim,” said Rebecca Aleman, director of Camp I Am Special. “There is one young man who is so severely disabled that his mom can’t get him in a pool by herself. We’ve got a lot of college guys who can get him in and out of the pool, and he loves it so much.”

Funding for the Aquatic Center has been made available by generous local donors, foundations, and organizations.

For additional details about the event, contact Kelly Kunkel at kkunkel@ccbjax.org or call (904) 899-5505.