Summer camp is about being active and having fun, but at the Allen Police Department F.I.T. Camp, summer camp is also about inclusion and empathy.
"Treat everybody like you want to be treated," Allen Police Officer Chance Graves said. "I mean, the Gold Rule is paramount at this camp."
F.I.T. stands for Fitness, Inclusion, and Teamwork. The camp is comprised of 30 kids and Special Olympics athletes, all working and competing together.
"And by the end of the week they grow as one, and they're cheering each other on, and it just creates that bond," Allen Police Officer Sam Rippamonti said. "As a parent, it makes my heart explode!"
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"I've always had a heart for helping people. When I was in high school, I always was drawn to the people that were not included," Graves said. "It's really important to us as dads to set a good example."
Campers spend a week at Athlete Training and Health in Allen. They play games and work on fitness drills. They also have guest speakers, like the Allen Police Department SWAT team, which did a show-and-tell with their gear. Soccer professional Bradlee Baladez of the Dallas Sidekicks also came by for a soccer skills lesson. Through it all, there are life lessons campers learn.
"That everyone is different and it's OK to be different," camper Ryder Graves said. "And just to help people that are different."
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Special Olympics swimmer, Brittany Wirkman, knows what it feels like to be treated differently.
"I got stared at. I got looked at. I got... sorry," Wirkman said with a tear in her eye. "But being here makes me happy that I can do sports. I can do working out. I can do all these fun activities, even though I have a prosthetic."
"I think inclusion should be infectious. I mean, it should just go out like ripples in water," Graves said. "Next time they're at school and they see someone not being included, one of us at the camp don't have to go over and tell them to include that person; go over and get that person, ask them if they want to play."
