NOTTINGHAM, MD – The Maryland School for the Blind has announced that it will offer several day and overnight camps for students who are blind or visually impaired during the month of July. All of the summer programs focus on the Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC), a set of skills in nine focus areas that are utilized by students with visual impairments in addition to a core academic curriculum.

The month-long camp schedule kicks off with the TRECCK for Success program for elementary students, which will run from July 8-12. This life-skills program will focus on compensatory skills, Orientation and Mobility (O&M), social skills, the use of assistive technology and sensory efficiency skills. Students will participate in fun, themed filled activities and field trips. The program continues for middle and high school students from July 22-26.

MSB Camp Abilities, a developmental sports and recreation camp for youth ages 9-17, will be held on the school’s campus from July 15-19, with a 2nd week taking place at Lions Camp Merrick in Nanjemoy, Maryland from July 28-August 1. MSB’s Camp Abilities has served students from Maryland, DC and Virginia for the past six years and is the only overnight sports camp in the area for blind or visually impaired students. The program helps students to develop physical fitness and social skills by participation in a variety of sports and activities, including beep baseball, soccer, swimming, track and field, judo, rock-climbing, archery, hiking, crafts and the traditional camp fires.

MSB is partnering with The Baltimore Orioles and the League of Dreams, a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing the sports of baseball and softball to people of all abilities, for a beep baseball clinic at Camp Abilities on Tuesday, July 16. Players from both organizations will be participating in the sport of beep baseball with the MSB campers. The Oriole Bird will also be on hand to join in the fun.

From July 8-August 2, students from ages 16-21 will be taking part in MSB’s career education program, Mastering Independence Skills Through Living Experiences (MISLE). MISLE is a work based, residential program that allows students to work in a community based setting, earn pay for various jobs, and learn budgeting and social skills with their peers.

As a statewide resource center, The Maryland School for the Blind provides outreach, educational and residential services for students to reach their fullest potential, by preparing them to be as successful, independent and well-rounded contributing members of their communities as possible. Each year MSB serves 65 percent of the 2,000 students throughout Maryland’s 24 jurisdictions identified as blind or visually impaired, including those with multiple disabilities.