At Camp Woodeden, everyone plays, everyone has fun and nobody stares.

For Lucas Braun, 13, it’s where he can indulge in his passion for sledge hockey, goof around with friends and chant the Go Bananas song around the campfire until the the whole bunch of them dissolve into giggles.

“This camp gives me an opportunity to be who I want to be, and that would be me,” Lucas said, as he helped mark the start of construction of a $4-million indoor recreation centre at the camp designed for kids with physical disabilities.

“At home, there is a lot we cannot do. At camp, there isn’t anything we can’t do,” Lucas said.

At home in Whitechurch, near Lucknow, Lucas and 11-year-old brother Zane are the only little people around.

“There’s a lot of people who kind of stare, which I don’t like. but they don’t here,” Lucas said.

Zane, more of a risk-taker, said he’s eager to try out the indoor climbing wall next summer.

The new rec centre also will have a full-sized gym, amphitheatre and meeting rooms. The centre will ensure more kids can use the camp year-round and in any weather.

This project is part of a revitalization of Camp Woodeden on London’s outskirts, one of two Easter Seals Ontario camps.

The provincial and federal governments are pitching in $2.6 million for the 12,000-square-foot facility.

Bruce Power chief executive Duncan Hawthorne has committed to helping raise most of the remainder.

He became involved a few years ago, as some staff at the plant have children with disabilities. A fundraising dinner was followed by a couple more dinners and now their collective efforts have raised more than $1 million.

“As a parent, you want to give your kids as much as we can but it all takes money,” he said, calling Woodeden “an inspirational place for inspirational people.”

About 700 campers attend Woodeden during the summer.

London MPP Chris Bentley said credit goes to the volunteers, staff, families and campers for making camp happen. “It’s about making sure that you can do things you always wanted to do, or (doing) the things you never thought you were able to do.”

The Kennedys of Burlington had never had a vacation together until last year’s five-day family camp.

Five-year-old twins Alex and Daniel were too busy swimming and checking out the pottery to say much about camp. But parents Rebecca and Steve said people here have quickly become like a second family.

It’s a place where Alex’s wheelchair is no obstacle.

“It just normalizes everything for us,” Rebecca said.

E-mail deb.vanbrenk@sunmedia.ca, or follow Debatlfpress on Twitter.