Disability access at youth camp brings breath of fresh air
CHICORA — Danny Markel didn’t spearhead upgrades to the Petroleum Valley Youth Center summer camp for himself.
Markel’s experience with muscular dystrophy helps him in his leadership as a director for the youth center, a role in which he’s served for five years.
“It wasn’t for me,” he said. “It was for other people. And I wanted it to be a safe place for people with disabilities. Since I’m disabled, I thought I would be a good spokesperson for that.
“I really just want to make the world a more accessible place,” Markel said. “It is about making all kids have fun in life, and be able to have the same opportunities and enjoy nature.”
These upgrades include a wheelchair-accessible restroom with a shower. They also include stone paths that provide entry to an arbor near the parking lot and a deck that offers staggering vistas surrounding it.
Markel marked the completion of the Petroleum Valley Youth Center Accessbility Project with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 4:30 p.m. Sunday, where a community of family and friends celebrated at the center. The event offered live music, popcorn, ice cream, candy, pumpkin-painting and a “pumpkin launch,“ where teams competed to catapult a pumpkin toward a target.
“I don’t know whose idea that pumpkin launch was,” joked youth center treasurer Mark Wallace.
He looked at Danny Markel beside him, who smiled.
“No matter where you go, when you have a disability ... you have to plan everything, no matter where you’re going, whether you’re going to a wedding or a restaurant,” said Sheila Markel. “You just have to plan ahead for everything. And the more places that are handicapped-accessible, the better for the entire world.”
Altogether the upgrades amounted to an estimated $65,000, according to construction subcontractor Justin Macurak. Macurak’s company, Macurak Heat Ventiliation and Air Conditioning, made the changes to the center, but the funds to cover the work came from the community.
“It was amazing how much the community rallied behind this,” said Wallace. “And Danny inspired a lot of people, but everything came together, including the contractor, the workers, and we just appreciate all of that.”
Mark Bachmann, who has had Parkinson’s Disease for 20 years, attended the event. Bachmann said the progress his close friend Danny had achieved is just wonderful, providing a chance for disabled children to participate in all the center’s activities.
Bachmann was young when was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease, he said.
“But hey,” he said. “There’s people a lot worse off than I am. There’s always someone who needs help up. And Danny’s always been there to help me up, and the friendship that we have, we always have each other’s backs”
Danny Markel now hopes to expand further access for disabled people. He just applied for a grant from the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, which Superman actor and disability advocate Christopher Reeve and his wife created.
If successful, he hopes to use the funds from that grant to create a disability-accessible fishing pier along the summer camp’s pond, so that everyone can more comfortably enjoy fishing there.
