Don Wood Foundation Awards Cardinal Services $5,000

Funds Support Cardinal’s Camp New Horizons

Warsaw, Ind. — Cardinal Services has received a $5,000 grant from the Don Wood Foundation in support of Cardinal’s Camp New Horizons. The funds will help cover the cost of supplies, participants’ meals, and transportation.

Cardinal Services started Camp New Horizons in summer 2025 as a camp for children with disabilities with the goal of serving 10 children, ages 3 to 13. Cardinal then expanded the camp to include sessions during each school break. Now the camp has sessions during the winter, spring, summer, and fall breaks. The grant also allows Cardinal to expand the camp’s impact to include 20 children per session.

Executive Director Marcie Arndt said Camp New Horizons was a tremendous success from the beginning.

“When we first imagined Camp New Horizons, our goal was simply to give kids with disabilities a place where they could fully experience the joy of summer,” Arndt said. “The excitement from parents and the growing requests to add more sessions made expanding an easy decision. Watching the camp grow into such a loved and anticipated program has been incredible.”

Camp New Horizons focuses on introducing kids to new experiences, filling their days with fun, hands-on learning, community exploration and creative expression. STEM activities are a key element of the curriculum. Among other projects, children spend time in Cardinal’s Robotics Club, also sponsored by the Don Wood Foundation.

“We find it encouraging to see more interest in  STEM and robotics activities for students with disabilities,” said Laura Macknick, president & CEO, Don Wood Foundation. “Investing in our youth through programs like Camp New Horizons provides important opportunities to spark interest in what may become a student’s passion and possibly generate a future career path.”

Activities are based on three age-appropriate learning tracks:

• Explorers (ages 3 to 5) engage in sensory-rich, play-based activities such as Bee-Bots and LEGO Duplo that introduce basic STEM concepts.
• Builders (ages 6 to 9) dive into beginner engineering and coding concepts by playing with LEGO WeDo and Ozobots.
• Innovators (ages 10 to 13) tackle more advanced STEM content using tools such as LEGO Mindstorms and Micro:Bit where they are introduced to real-world challenges that encourage innovative thinking and leadership.

“There are infinite experiences and things to learn that kids can encounter and explore at Camp New Horizons,” Arndt said. “This grant will help them take those steps to explore with confidence and excitement. We are grateful to the Don Wood Foundation for their help in expanding the horizons of kids.”

To qualify for Camp New Horizons a child needs to have a Medicaid Waiver, be on the waitlist for a Medicaid Waiver, or have applied for a Medicaid Waiver. For more information, contact Cardinal Outreach Coordinator Lindsay Gamble at 260.369.3117 ext. 5041 or via email at lindsay.gamble@cardinalservices.org.