(Sumter) Feb. 11, 2005 - Camp Burnt Gin is an oasis for children with disabilities and serious illness. For a week each summer, they play sports, create art and have fun.

Linda Hazlett says her son Ian, who has autism, looks forward to the retreat every year, "Every year we say, want to go to camp? He says yes, want to go to camp."

Linda says Burnt Gin is the only camp Ian and his friend Drew can attend. Drew is blind and has cerebral palsy.
   
She says many campers need wheelchairs, feeding tubes, and round-the-clock care, "I knew he was well cared for and that is a feeling I don't ever get any other time. It's the only time I know I don't have to worry about him."

What happens to Camp Burnt Gin depends on the State House. In his budget, Governor Mark Sanford is proposing to cut money to the camp. It got $180,000 last year. The governor's spokesman, Will Folks, told WIS, "The question is: are there ways to fund the camp with private dollars? Camp Burnt Gin is a noble effort, we're just not sure it's a state function."

Linda is concerned with the timeframe, "I don't think you can cut off a camp in four months time."

She wants lawmakers to insist on money, "If we don't support more programs like this on a state level, we'll see more children in institutions and more families breaking up. That would be a terrible travesty."

For now, camp's still on even as directors look at the possibility of raising money on their own.

By Jennifer Miskewicz
Posted 9:44pm by BrettWitt