September - St. Augustine Catholic
September - St. Augustine Catholic
September - St. Augustine Catholic
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A junior at <strong>St</strong>. Joseph Academy in <strong>St</strong>.<br />
<strong>Augustine</strong>, Robert Bianco said he has grown<br />
to love the disabled children he works with<br />
each year at Camp Promise. He is pictured<br />
here with his camp buddy Christopher.<br />
WWhen Camp Promise volunteer Robert<br />
Bianco, 16, met Christopher, a teen with<br />
severe disabilities and the mental cognitive<br />
age of a two-year-old, he knew he had a<br />
new challenge on his hands. The camper<br />
– attending a summer camp sponsored by<br />
the Disabilities Ministry of the Diocese of<br />
Saint <strong>Augustine</strong> held annually at Marywood<br />
Retreat Center in Jacksonville – couldn’t<br />
MARK UDRY<br />
Seeing Beyond<br />
BY TOM TRACY<br />
“These kids are afflicted with such<br />
serious handicaps and yet they always<br />
have a smile on their face... They taught<br />
me there really wasn’t anything too bad<br />
that I couldn’t overcome. I learned to<br />
live my life to the fullest.”<br />
speak, but it was clear to Robert that<br />
Christopher wasn’t crazy about his choice of<br />
beverages during mealtime.<br />
“When Christopher first got to camp his<br />
mom told me that he liked to eat and that<br />
he had a good appetite. But he was picky<br />
with what he wanted to drink, so I put five<br />
different drinks in front of him,” recalled<br />
Robert, a junior at <strong>St</strong>. Joseph Academy in<br />
<strong>St</strong>. <strong>Augustine</strong> who recently completed his<br />
third year as a camp “buddy” to disabled<br />
children. “Christopher tried all the drinks,<br />
didn’t really like any of them, but he did<br />
drink a little apple juice and water – so I cut<br />
the apple juice with water and he drank that<br />
fine all week.”<br />
While <strong>St</strong>. Joseph Academy has a<br />
community service requirement for<br />
students, Robert said he doesn’t come to<br />
Camp Promise to satisfy that requirement<br />
16 <strong>St</strong>. <strong>Augustine</strong> <strong>Catholic</strong> <strong>September</strong> 2006<br />
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