On the surface, Camp Koinonia seems like any other summer camp. Located at the Clyde M. York 4-H Training Center in Crossville, Tenn., it offers its patrons horseback riding, sports, games, canoeing and crafts. 

But Camp K is different, not because of its activities or its location, but because of its staff and its campers.

Camp Koinonia is, according to its web site, "a week-long residential outdoor education program for over 120 children who have a variety of disabilities from the Knoxville area." 

The camp is staffed by about 150 University of Tennessee students whose work at the camp serves as the culmination of Gene Hayes's Therapeutic Recreation Programming class.

Hayes, a UT associate professor of recreation and leisure studies, said, "My lifelong passion is working with children with disabilities and 30 years ago, I decided we can't learn enough from a textbook. We had to go out and do it ourselves."  

Not only do Hayes' students learn about disabilities and how to modify them through therapeutic recreation, they put the theories they learn into practice.

Hayes said that his students are expected to be able to "organize, develop and lead." They demonstrate these skills by arranging and executing a number of outdoor activities, including an overnight camping trip. 

They also offer campers social activities and provide them with meals, snacks and a banquet at the camp's conclusion. 

Jeanne Hastings, a graduate student and certified recreational specialist, explained that the camp impacts the students just as much as it does the campers.

"I've got more out of coming to this class than any other that I've ever taken in my life," Hastings said. "I love to watch students go from being real neophytes in the field of working with children with disabilities and then seeing them at the end of the week. I'll see them with a broken heart watching their camper leave."

It's not all fun and games for members of Hayes' class. They have to take exams and write papers just like they would in any other class, but, for this group of students, Camp K makes it all worth while.

Jennifer Clancy, a junior and repeat camp staff member, said that she decided to become involved with camp because of her relationship with her mentally handicapped brother.

"Making an impact on those kids like that is not something that you get to do all the time," Clancy said. "I love camp and I love what it's about."

Camp participants are ages 7-22, although a Camp Koinonio II recently opened for older campers. Their disabilities range from muscular dystrophy to autism to Down syndrome. 

Hayes said the camp's goal is to provide children with a summer camp experience that they would not be able to take part in under normal circumstances.

"Most of these kids have more than one disability," said Brad Wofford, a senior in recreation administration and an experienced camp staff member. "Many of them need total care. They have emotional, psychological and bodily needs and the students take care of them."

This year, Camp K will be open from April 15-20. There is a tentative fee of $150 per camper. Parents of campers can register their children and receive more information about the camp from the UT's Department of Exercise, Sport and Leisure studies web site.