Programs

iCan Shine is committed to offering a variety of programs to enrich and impact the lives of people with disabilities.

Happy Camper

Our Programs

Currently our iCan programs offered to people with disabilities include:

    • iCan Bike
    • iCan Swim
    • iCan Dance

 

iCan Bike:

iCan Bike programs are for people with disabilities ages eight and up. We understand that the vast majority of people with disabilities never experience the thrill of independently riding a two-wheel bicycle during their lifetime. For example, recent research shows that over 80% of people with Autism and 90% of people with Down syndrome never learn to ride a two-wheel bicycle.  Defying these odds is why we exist!

Our adapted iCan Bike program resulted from more than twenty years of research by Dr. Klein, a mechanical engineering professor, and his students at the University of Illinois. Dr. Klein retired from his academic career at the University of Illinois in 1998 and offered the first bike camp in 1999 in La Crosse, WI. In the ensuing years, Dr. Klein and his wife invested a significant portion of their lives in growing the bike program to three fleets of bikes and approximately 30 camps in 2006.

Our bike camps occur predominantly in the summer months but also during week-long school breaks.  We collaborate primarily with local charities, parks and recreation departments, colleges, universities, motivated parents and other individuals we refer to as our camp ‘hosts’ who secure a local facility and recruit riders and volunteer spotters for the 5-day (M – F) camp.

Hosts pay us a fixed fee to conduct these 5-day camps which consist of five 75-minute bike-riding sessions per day with a range of four to eight riders per session.  The number of riders per session depends on the square footage of the indoor riding area of the host-provided facility and the host’s recruiting efforts.  The fixed fee for our iCan Bike camp remains the same regardless of how many riders the host facility can accommodate (between 20 and 40 riders).

For more details about hosting one of our iCan Bike Camps, please visit our iCan Bike Host page.

 

iCan Swim:

iCan Swim programs are for people with disabilities ages three and up. We collaborate primarily with local charities, parks and recreation departments, colleges, universities, motivated parents and other individuals we refer to as our camp ‘hosts’ who secure a local facility and recruit swimmers and volunteer spotters, a few of which are trained and certified as Adapted Aquatics Instructors, for the 5-day (M – F) camp.

Hosts pay us a fixed fee to conduct these 5-day camps which consist of five 45 to 60-minute swim sessions per day with a range of three to six swimmers per session. The number of swimmers per session depends on the square footage of the available swim area of the host-provided facility and the host’s recruiting efforts. The fixed fee for our iCan Swim camp remains the same regardless of how many total swimmers (between 15 and 30 swimmers).

For more details about hosting one of our iCan Swim Camps, please visit our iCan Swim Host page.

 

iCan Dance:

iCan Dance programs are for people with disabilities ages eight and up. We collaborate primarily with local charities, parks and recreation departments, colleges, universities, motivated parents and other individuals we refer to as our camp ‘hosts’ who secure a local facility and recruit dancers and volunteers for the 5-day (M – F) camp.  At our iCan Dance programs, with the help of one to two volunteers, dancers learn dance moves combined in a choreographed routine culminating in an on stage performance on the last day.

Hosts pay us a fixed fee to conduct these 5-day camps which consist of five 60-minute dance sessions per day with a range of four to eight dancers per session for a dance camp. The number of dancers per session depends on the square footage of the available dance area of the host-provided facility and the host’s recruiting efforts. The fixed fee for our iCan Dance camp remains the same regardless of how many total dancers (between 20 and 40 dancers).

For more details about hosting one of our iCan Dance Camps, please visit our iCan Dance Host page.