It’s an 80-degree day in Ottawa County. The sun is beating down on the pavement outside Grand Valley State University’s fieldhouse. It’s the perfect day for a water fight.
With the blowing of a whistle, firefighters from the Allendale Fire Department turn on their water cannons. Campers from Mary Free Bed’s Junior Wheelchair Sports Camp roll themselves quickly toward dozens of buckets they’ll fill with water and dump all over each other. This celebration marks the end of the camp each year. It’s a day the campers, volunteers, instructors, and firefighters all look forward to. Brad Dion knows first hand.
“This camp is the first thing that goes into my calendar every year. I actually build my whole summer around this calendar to make sure I’m here, local, and available to be here at this camp,” said Dion, who describes every day of the camp as being like Christmas morning.