Camp No Limits celebrates 10th anniversary at Quinnipiac University

Press release

HAMDEN, Conn.– Camp No Limits returned to Quinnipiac University this July, celebrating its 10th anniversary and welcoming 17 campers from across the country for a weekend of adaptive sports, peer support and life skills. With sled hockey, wheelchair basketball, and occupational therapy and physical therapy sessions with Quinnipiac students, the camp offers fun, friendship and a space where kids can just be themselves.

“On your mark. Get set. Go!”
With that cue, Quinnipiac’s M&T Bank Arena erupts into cheers. Seventeen campers with limb loss or limb differences dash across the floor in a spirited relay race, cheered on by their dedicated volunteers. Laughter echoes off the walls while families, faculty and administrators clap and call from the stands.
It’s Friday at Camp No Limits, a weekend of celebration, community and confidence-building where ability is redefined, friendships are forged and limits are left at the door.
Camp No Limits is more than a summer camp. It’s a nationwide program serving youth with limb differences and their families. Quinnipiac was the first university in the country to host a session in 2015 and for a decade, the campus has welcomed families from across the country for a weekend that’s as healing as it is empowering.
From the upper levels of the stands, Marcy Webster waves down at her 13-year-old daughter Rachel as she takes her place on the starting line. Rachel lost her leg to a rare bone cancer at age 10 and has returned to Camp No Limits for the past three years.
“There’s something magical about meeting in person,” said Webster. “You build friendships, and you leave knowing you can always come back. We wait all year, storing up the hurt, the victories, the questions, so that we can reconnect at camp, face-to-face. No one looks twice at anybody here. You get a mental break, a chance to recharge and then go back out into the world.”
Camp activities are guided by physical and occupational therapists, prosthetists and Quinnipiac OT/PT students and faculty, with additional support from teenage and adult Camp No Limits mentors with personal experiences with limb loss or limb differences.
For Jason Meyers, Camp No Limits feels like a full-circle moment. Now living in San Diego, the Quinnipiac alum was attending a Camp No Limits session in Big Bear, California, when he was surprised to learn that a Connecticut camp was being held at his alma mater on the East Coast.
He and his wife Danielle first brought their daughter Zoey, age 6, to Quinnipiac’s Camp No Limits last year. Zoey is a below-elbow congenital amputee and was born missing her right hand. This year, she was joined in camp activities by her 3-year-old sister Margaret, making it a true family tradition.
“Coming back to Quinnipiac with my daughters, seeing them experience this place in such a meaningful way, it’s surreal,” said Meyers. “Zoey’s already thinking about the future. She wants to be an oceanographer or maybe an OT and attend Quinnipiac. Either way, she’s inspired and motivated.”
Maria Cusson, Quinnipiac clinical associate professor of physical therapy and Camp No Limits PT faculty adviser, emphasized how the camp serves more than just the child.
“One of the most important things about Quinnipiac's involvement with this camp is the opportunity for experiential learning for our OT and PT students. They’re not just doing the fun stuff. They’re learning how to treat impairments and help improve the campers’ functional limitations,” said Cusson. “But just as importantly, they’re gaining a holistic perspective, seeing the impact on the entire family, the parents, the siblings, everyone involved.”
Cusson credits strong local partnerships for the camp’s continued success. Hartford HealthCare has been a valued partner, providing financial support as well as volunteers throughout the weekend.
Valerie Strange agreed that it takes a village. As a Quinnipiac clinical professor of occupational therapy, she also serves as the camp’s OT faculty adviser.
“We spend so much time teaching our own students about inclusion, and here we are at a camp that’s technically segregated. But that’s what makes it so important,” said Strange. “These are critical spaces where campers can take a breath, feel good about who they are and just have fun being with others who understand.”