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Veterans Raise
Money for Camp ClapHans
Veterans of Foreign
Wars (VFW) Post 9265 in south Oklahoma City
recently held a motorcycle poker run to raise
money for the Camp ClapHans scholarship endowment
fund. Camp ClapHans is a summer camp project
of the J. D. McCarty Center for children with
developmental disabilities in Norman.
"We are very
pleased to have groups like the VFW conduct
fundraisers on our behalf," said Uwe von
Schamann, director of development and fundraising
for the McCarty Center. "The development
of this scholarship endowment fund is a huge
job," he continued, "and it's going
to take groups like the VFW to step up and assist
us in making this fund grow."
The theme of this year's
VFW poker run was "Revin' it up for Autism."
Fifty-four motorcycles participated in the 69-mile
poker run that started and ended at VFW Post
9265. A total of $3,260 was raised for the scholarship
fund.
"One of our post members
has a child with Autism," explained Sheila
Walker, one of the poker run organizers. "It
was suggested that we select an organization
that helps kids with Autism. We called a doctor
we knew, explained what we were doing and asked
who we might donate to. The doctor told us to
contact the McCarty Center and that's how we
got connected to Uwe and made our selection
for an event beneficiary."
The Camp ClapHans scholarship
endowment fund will be used to assist parents
in paying a part or all of the camp tuition
for this summer camp. The summer camp is now
in the construction bidding process. It is anticipated
that Camp ClapHans will be open in the summer
of 2011.
Camp ClapHans is named
in honor of Sammy Jack Claphan, a Cherokee citizen
from Stillwell, Oklahoma. Claphan played offensive
tackle for the University of Oklahoma and later
played in the National Football League for the
San Diego Chargers and the Cleveland Browns.
Claphan had a degree in special education. When
he retired from professional football he returned
to Oklahoma where he coached and taught special
education. Claphan died suddenly in 2001 at
the age of 45.
The J. D. McCarty Center
is Oklahoma's center of excellence in the care
and treatment of children with developmental
disabilities from birth to age 21. Founded by
the veterans group the 40 et 8 of Oklahoma in
1946, the McCarty Center treated one diagnosis
…cerebral palsy. Today, the hospital has
provided inpatient and outpatient services in
physical, occupational, speech and language
therapy for more than 70 different diagnoses
in the developmental disability category.
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