Sarah Mackey didn’t recognize her passion for children with special needs until she “fell into it.” She grew up around the special needs community because of her mother’s career in education.

“I’ve heard about special needs my whole life, but wasn’t necessarily involved until I was older,” she explained.

Sarah attends church with Brett and Paige Fisher, Victory Lane Camp founders, and has known about Victory Lane Camp since the beginning. When she started working at 321Go Kids’ Rehab, she found herself working closely with many Victory Families. She started helping behind the scenes with Brett and Tiffanny, including providing structured activities for kids while parents were in training.

This year, Sarah had the opportunity to become further involved with VLC by attending a summer camp session at Cornerstone Campground. One highlight for Sarah was simply spending time with the kids.

“I like being around the kids. I love hanging out with them. I’m not the one that’s going to be leading them in a game. I just like hanging out and getting to know them. Celebrating along with them,” she expressed.

Another special moment Sarah remembers is watching the Victory Families arrive at camp. “We all had signs to welcome the families and were jumping up and down. I loved seeing the families respond differently to that and being caught up in the energy of the moment.”

Sarah continues to grow in her VLC connections throughout the year by seeing families from the community in therapy appointments, helping with babysitting, and VLC events. She also hopes to use her position at 321Go Kids’ Rehab to encourage families to attend camp.

“There are several families that I would love to see come to camp this year. I am fortunate that it is a big part of my job to build relationships with the families that come to 321. That is a natural part of it,” Sarah shared. “I hope to see some of them at VLC this summer because it is a totally different atmosphere that creates a lot of great opportunities to get to know people on a deeper level, all while having fun!”