Camp Able Coronado: SDSU’s legacy service project empowers children and adults with disabilities

Taking advantage of the beautiful seaside location San Diego offers, Camp Able Coronado is a program that provides children and adults with disabilities unique experiences on the water, such as sailing around San Diego Bay, canoeing, and other beach activities.

“(Camp Able) feels like a hidden gem within the portfolio of things that SDSU does for its community,” said Jess Ponting, a recreation and tourism management associate professor in the L. Robert Payne School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at San Diego State University.

Located at Silver Strand State Beach in Coronado, the camp is a service project operated under the SDSU Research Foundation and The Campanile Foundation, which require a full-time SDSU faculty member to head the project.

Ponting, director of the SDSU Center for Surf Research (CSR), has been Camp Able’s project director since he took over the role a year ago from Gene Lamke, professor emeritus in Hospitality and Tourism Management.

Ponting “has a lot of qualities and a background that I think can add to the Camp Able at Coronado experience,” Lamke said.

Lamke, who retired in May 2021 after 52 years of teaching, cofounded the camp with his mentor Robert Hanson. The concept originated in the 1970s, with the camp's inaugural session in 1981.

“The reason I’ve been involved so long is because we’ve had such tremendous support from the community, not only the greater San Diego community, but Coronado especially,” said Lamke.

Lamke said he is extremely proud of this program and all the work people put into it, and he remains involved, now serving on one of the organization’s committees.

Jenelle Nettles, the current part-time director of Camp Able appointed by Lamke, has been involved in the organization for 25 years while also working at Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego.

Lamke praised Nettles for her work and said she has played a significant role in “making Camp Able a great service to the community” and helping it to become the valuable program it is today.

Lamke also commended Nettles for the success of the Camp Able Gala, an annual fundraising event for the camp through silent and live auctions, providing the revenue needed for outreach and services.

Nettles started as a volunteer and was “hooked after the first summer.” Shortly after, she became the camp’s volunteer program coordinator and said, “The rest (was) history.”

“It’s a big source of joy for me,” Nettles said. “I feel very fortunate to be able to have a job where I’m getting paid to do something that I love…I wake up in the morning excited to work for Camp Able.”

“I have always been really interested in the benefits of recreation and, in particular, recreation in the water for people of all kinds,” said Ponting. “...that’s exactly what Camp Able provides.”

Ponting said his position as director of the SDSU Center for Surf Research has deepened his understanding of the benefits of programs like Camp Able and the positive impact outdoor experiences can have on individuals.

“Surf therapy can help people who are recovering from trauma or PTSD, as well as people with physical disabilities and mental disabilities,” he said.

Ponting called attention to the isolation many children and adults with disabilities feel in social settings and said he wants to continue to make Camp Able a place where they can feel “welcomed for who they are all day long.”

“We have campers who have been coming to Camp Able for 30 years,” Lamke said. “They were 10 when they started, and now they’re 40, and this is a great opportunity for them.”

“I think the thing that I love most are the campers and their families,” Nettles said. “It’s a great community. Camp Able really is a family, and it’s kind of become my second family.”

According to Ponting, SDSU Development helped the program secure funding to expand its community involvement.

One program every summer has expanded to become one weekend per month, but Ponting hopes that with more recognition and support from the community, the camp will be able to further increase the services it provides.

Information on supporting or registering for Camp Able can be found online. A volunteer application can be completed online.