I did the old-fashioned fadeaway for you.

Try this one Evan.

I think we got a winner.

I think we got a winner here, Evan.

So we got a tambourine, theremin proper.

Got Jenna on the mic.

Parenting a child with special needs is very challenging to think about the journey we've gone through.

It's a difficult road.

You see their gifts, you see their humor.

You see their intelligence.

And the world at large sometimes misses it.

People don't like to talk about special needs.

You know the story... You tell it a lot.

You never tell it in length.

It's just too long and complicated.

First of all, it's just not cut and dry.

You'll learn that one way or another.

This camp was born of devastating loss.

And that isn't just our family.

It's a number of you who have also had tremendous challenges that have brought you to this place of parenting a child with a disability.

You know, a camper might not be able to say exactly how they're feeling, but you put that instrument in their hand and they light up.

It's eluded science as to why a certain combination of notes can make you sad or happy or march to war.

Music is why we are alive.

Eric had a twinkle in his eye.

He was one of a kind.

His smile was completely contagious.

He had big brown eyes an infectious laugh.

He was full of life.

He wanted to be a rock star.

That's why it's Eric RicStar.

He just... He melted your heart.

My name is Judy Winter.

My name is Dick Winter.

We're pretty proud.

Michiganders.

He's a CPA, I'm a writer and author.

We actually met you were a student at Michigan State, and I was a part time student at that time.

We've been married for 46 years and counting.

I always wanted to have kids.

I think Judy may have maybe a little bit later to come to the game.

I did not want children.

I was focused on the career.

It is the biggest responsibility and most challenging role anyone can ever take on.

And if you get thrown a curveball like we did, it changes everything.

Our daughter, Jenna, being first she turned out to be very easy as a baby.

As a young child.

She did everything early.

She was the dream first child.

I was six when Eric was born.

His birthday was actually a day after mine.

In 1990.

When Eric was born, we happened to have a medical challenge during the delivery That kind of turned everybody's world upside down and Eric and I both almost lost our lives.

I met Judy at the hospital.

Eric and Judy were both very sick.

It was a roughly a three-week period early on when both Judy and Eric in ICU It's a time you... You can't forget.

It was two different floors.

And I can never forget running up and down between the floors.

You know, where do I have to be now?

And both of my my newborn son and my wife are in an ICU.

I remember my mom being in the hospital for much longer than originally had been anticipated.

And I think at one point I wasn't even sure that like she was going to come home.

I kind of thought maybe, you know, I was going to lose my mom and my brother.

Eric was left with a diagnosis of cerebral palsy as a result of that, which is a lack of oxygen to the brain.

He could not be fed like a normal baby.

No.

He had to have tube feedings which is where they put a tube down your nose.

We had a very humorless pediatrician and her words were, "he's not going to do much And he'll probably level off, meaning he wouldn't accomplish anything beyond six months."

"He will not be normal."

That's probably the three words.

Whatever "normal" is?

Yeah.

I had to make a decision about what was going to work for the future.

I chose to give up my job with the television station and ended up becoming Eric's primary advocate.

We had to make that commitment that we were going to provide the best we could to our abilities for a good life for Eric.

We decided at that moment that we were going to raise him to be everything he could possibly be, to have a full life and to reach for his dreams just as we had with Jenna.

In my mind, he deserved then to go to preschool.

I had no idea what a big stretch it was to have a child with a disability, attend a regular preschool.

I was holding Eric walking across the street to this preschool, called the Laboratory Preschool, and I made my case for them to include him in their traditional preschool class.

And that's where this all started.

I was summoned into my director's office and she said, "I have a child who is going to be enrolled in your classroom."

How do I create an environment that eliminates all of the things that make him atypical?

I wanted Eric to be a typically developing child in our classroom.

I met Eric Winter.

When I was teaching a demonstration class at the Child Development Lab.

Sort of developmentally appropriate music.

And Eric was in that class.

I would do things like sort of make musical jokes, leave the last note off of a song.

And although Eric couldn't respond in some of the ways that would traditionally be called a response to that, it was clear that he got my musical jokes in ways that the other kids didn't.

He understood music at a much deeper level tones and melodies and lyrics.

I remember talking to the preschool teacher and asking for contact information for Eric's parents.

And she called me and said, "Your son is full of music.

You need to put him in music classes."

And my reaction was, I laughed because at that time our big goal was to get Eric to sleep through the night.

Some children can express themselves better through music than through any other means.

And I think Eric was one of those kids.

It was a way for Eric who I think sometimes probably as a little kid, felt trapped in his body.

To get out of that.

That was a groundbreaking moment for me.

So our job then became, How do we nurture this gift?

We've just found an open door.

And from there, quickly, we got into the music therapy piece of things.

We knew nothing about music therapy when we started, and not enough people know about it or have access to it.

Cindy Edgerton has been a godsend.

I started working with Eric when he was five years old.

The more I worked with him, it was like, Oh, I can't wait till next time he comes.

I can't wait.

I'm going to try this.

I got to try this.

We just came up with so many different ideas that would help him be successful.

That changed Eric's life without question.

He just blossomed once he finally we finally realized that he enjoyed music so much.

He physically lit up.

Yeah, he did definitely.

Physically lit up.

I gave Miss Cindy a box of chocolates She said, “Oh, thank you.” She yanked one out and took a big bite and broke her tooth on the rock inside And she said ERIC: Thank you!

What a great song.

It was joyous.

Like that's what I remember the most is the sessions were just fun and energetic and it was jump in and play guitar and be silly.

Working with him, I immediately fell In love with the whole process of what music therapy was and what it could do Music therapy is an established health care profession.

It's the use of music to reach nonmusical goals and objectives.

So it was really cool because he made a lot of progress in speech.

We recorded "I Love You," he said "I Love You" to his mom and Im going to start crying.

There was something that happened when we took him to weekly music therapy classes at Michigan State University that he got to be who he really was.

He fixated on the guitar.

Eric was nonverbal, so he couldn't necessarily tell us what he liked.

But the connection that I had with him through music... words didn't have to be exchange to really enjoy it together.

The nickname RicStar -- I can take it back to a moment he and I were hanging out and I remember thinking, Eric.

you like rock stars.

And I was like, but you're like a "RicStar."

And that's where it came from.

Erin and Ellen also worked with Eric at his house so they would go together and do music.

So he kind of had it twice a week As a student at MSU, it was one of the first music therapy programs in the country.

We would volunteer doing our practicum, and so that's how I met Eric.

We learned that he wanted to write his own music.

They went, “Eric, do you want to write your own song?"

And he gave them the cue for YES.

So they would work painstakingly with him to come up with potentials for different chords and stuff.

And until they got it right, he would say "no."

And when they got it right, he said, "That's it."

And working together, they put together several songs that Eric wrote.

I remember his mom and Cindy were talking one time and we were just saying, how his trajectory forward in music was so exciting at the time.

He was so joyful, so loving to everyone he met.

I remember still like it was yesterday.

I had gone to bed early and Dick would stay up later, so he would always check in on Eric before he went to bed.

And a great big yell “Judy!” comes in the middle of the night because he had discovered Eric not breathing.

I had to call 911 and we watched them try to resuscitate our son and fail.

I received the phone call from Judy.

Hearing Dick and and Judy on the phone... You know, it's like, how could this happen if he's a young child?

He has so much in his future.

Oh, my gosh.

He just has so much to do.

So, so much to grow, so much to share with the world.

It was incredibly difficult time when Eric passed away.

It was so sudden, so anticipated.

We felt like this incredible light who had given so much of our time and energy and emotion and heart to had been snuffed out in a moment.

There was a great outpouring of support from the community and friends.

When we did the celebration of his life the pews of the church were full.

Losing a child is no simple thing.

What you decide in light of that can be life changing.

The decision we made saved us.

Okay, let's make something special out of this.

Eric would want us to live joyfully.

What are we going to do with this tragedy?

We knew that he wanted to go to summer camp.

We knew that he would want to play music all day long.

And we knew that he would want no one excluded.

And that's when we started on the path to the Eric RicStar Winter Music Therapy camp.

Starting the camp in his honor is I just get emotional talking about it.

Working with the community music school to even come up with this grand idea.

I'd say it's been an amazing wayfor my family to not only continue Eric's memory, but just to kind of deal with his loss in a way that's a celebration.

We're the Community Music School the outreach division of the College of Music at Michigan State Building community.

Being a community is what it's all about.

I knew when Judy approached us that we could impact countless lives.

All right, David, right down the middle here.

I'm Linda St.

Amant and I am the mother and caregiver for my son, David.

You know, our neighbor actually said there's two sheriffs here and David's been spent in a bad accident.

You arrived to the hospital and he had had blood coming out of all his orifices on his head, couldn't even touch him.

He was so fragile.

He was in a coma for about three months, brain stem, basal ganglia damage, 69 days to get him to just open his mouth.

Imagine having to learn absolutely everything over again.

That was beautiful.

My first time going to music camp, I cried.

The pure joy of playing and being with other people.

We began the first Eric RicStar Winter music therapy camp just months after Eric died.

We were on a mission so to speak and so we approached Cindy and we said, "Will you help us start this camp?"

It was like, Oh, yeah, sure.

You know, let's do it now.

We wanted to do it in a group setting, engaging with each other.

It's the only camp of its kind, as far as I'm aware.

Are we being too loud, Cindy?

No!

Cindy and Judy and Dick really just made it happen.

They took the ball and ran with it and then trying to get the word out.

How do you fundraise and how do you make connections?

And every roadblock that I could see from afar, they just knocked it down.

And as a result, there's the RicStar camp.

Part of the foundation being, you know, a tribute to Eric RicStar Winter there's a big vibe of rock and roll.

Kids that were told your child may never talk, They're singing.

They're literally singing lyrics to ACDC songs.

Anyone walks across the line into camp, you don't need to explain who you are.

You don't need to explain your idiosyncrasies.

Everybody's equal.

A child with a disability is always excluded.

It's just a very inclusive camp.

Like they can come in and feel like everybody else.

This is a population that often doesn't have friends and they come to see their friends.

You're bringing a sense of purpose and joy and community in a place that can be pretty isolating.

I mean, it's life changing.

It's life changing.

And thats me dancing.

Thats you dancing?

I want to look at that one up close.

Look at you.

Yeah, dancing to the Beatles.

I'm Laura Cole and I live in Mason, Michigan, with Jenna.

I cant help it thats how God made me.

She has always been into music.

Look at you jamming.

She didn't move a lot when she was little and so music got her moving and got her up and dancing and I think it helps her feel connected.

When she goes to the camp, she feels like she's a part of something.

I know she's going to be 100% accepted and doing what she loves the best.

Oh, you got the basketball game going?

Why'd we get a Mac?

Why did we get a Mac computer?

Because dad had to clean up the viruses on a regular one constantly.

I'm Gordon Shepherd.

Adams been going to RicStar Camp since it started.

You like music?

Yes.

Adam is 38, the oldest of mine and he plays the drums.

The one thing about Adam is is he don't communicate well.

I think he was three and we took him for a hearing test at MSU they suggested to be tested for autism and we had him tested and he was autistic.

It's still hard to not cry.

He had years where you could just tell by his behavior that things weren't going good at school.

It's your first child and you still love him.

You're constantly advocating for Adam.

I don't think he was, but three years old and Karen Milbach was the teacher's name and she had him doing Little Drummer Boy on xylophone.

As the years progressed, we got him some drums.

We started music therapy there at MSU at like nine years old.

One thing I've learned over the years with Adam is that he likes to be around his peers.

What do you love the most Bon Jovi Living on a Prayer?

I'm Austin Zell.

I am 31 years old.

My diagnosis was a mild form of cerebral palsy.

I do have some physical limitations.

but I can function pretty well on my own.

Skipping ahead in life... As far as elementary school goes, that was pretty difficult.

I was like, picked on.

But instead of being, you know, really sensitive about it, I would make jokes because I realized that if I was going to make it in the world, then I would just have to not take those things to heart.

I'll grab one from the fridge cause its easier.

The reason I wanted to live on my own was because I had doctors that would basically say, "Oh, she's not going to be good enough to live on her own.

She's going to have to constantly rely on her parents."

And this was when I was like eight years old.

So like, watch me.

I feel like in today's society there's too much focus on what people can't do.

My first camp was about ten years ago.

The thing I like about camp is just seeing other people have fun getting to explore their abilities.

And for me to be kind of a little cocky when it comes to mine.

When I came here, I didn't even realize it but Lauren Mendoza is another friend of mine.

She's been going longer than me.

I think she's been going since the very first camp.

Lauren is 31 now.

She has cerebral palsy.

She lives at home with my husband and I. My husband is Mike and he's forestry professor at MSU.

Lauren got her wheelchair I think when she was two and a half.

She had her first major surgery at like three years old.

You know, most three year olds would want their blankie or their stuffed animals so I was offering her all of these items to take to the hospital with her.

And she said, no, "I want my Reba McEntire video."

She has a very high musical intelligence.

Do you want your chimes set up here?

No.

Okay.

We heard about this camp when she was 11 and she's been coming to camp every summer ever since.

I said, “Doctor, doctor Do something for me.

I must have a fever of 200 degrees Cant stand the pain.

Cant eat a bite.

Since he's been gone Aint nothing going right.

I got a bad case of love Yeah, a bad case of love I got a bad case of love and my heart is full of misery."

I sing with a local blues band.

I grew up really listening to country music.

I wasn't introduced to the blues until much later, till after I had Lauren actually There was just something about the sound, the feel of it, the emotion behind it.

Know whats going through my mind?

Do you mind if I get comfortable kick off these shoes while youre fixing me a drink play me some of that down-home blues.

Go, girl Lauren would always come and watch me perform.

But she never really had the opportunity to perform herself until camp.

She's making music like she sees me making music with my band.

So she's not on the sidelines.

She's not a bystander.

Camps been an opportunity to be surrounded by people who are ability focused.

They see her.

You know, they see her as a person first.

Jaslene is twelve She has both cognitive and physical disabilities.

When she was younger, she was ambulatory.

And then about four years ago, she got the flu and after that, her physical health declined.

So there's something about these viruses that can lead to long term chronic health problems.

according to the neurologist.

She does do regular medical treatments to help with the pain because the condition that she has, she experiences pain almost every day.

It can be very heartbreaking, Jaslene is a very social child.

Her music therapist has described her taste as “eclectic.” The camp is something we look forward to each year.

She experiences a lot of joy when she goes.

It brings out a lot of emotions in her.

Wave, Payton.

Wave to the camera.

I'm Tracy Schofield and I live in Muskegon, Michigan.

I have three children.

Payton is 22 and she is a miracle.

She literally is a walking miracle.

I was 38 weeks pregnant, went into labor and when I delivered, they did not hand me the baby.

she was not breathing properly.

And our life literally changed in a matter of seconds.

She needed something that's called an ECMO.

So she needed to be flown to Ann Arbor by helicopter.

They gave us 20% at the most that she would survive 24 hours.

A social worker came to help us plan a funeral.

There's nothing you can do but trust and pray.

Even still today, Payton doesn't have a diagnosis.

There was an article in Muskegon Chronicle when I found the RicStar music camp the very first year was that it was for children with special needs and they're healthy siblings.

And that was actually the dinger that went off for me.

This has got to be something great because whoever put that in there knew that knew that children with special needs, if they have siblings, they too are part of whatever is going on.

It's three days of adult camp and there's three days of camp for children.

And siblings are included.

We thought that was a very important again, from our experience, the sibling story is often not told because so much is taken up parenting the child with a disability.

Well, not only does this give time for the sibling to spend with their special needs brother or sister, but it also gives them a view into “I'm not the only one with a sibling who has special needs.” They get to connect that way and that's been really cool to watch.

Peyton started when she was three and I came with when I was four.

Copeland's been able to have that shared experience with Peyton as well.

Camp started 20 years ago.

It reaches everybody in some way, So youll see it in individuals who may not be able to express themselves verbally or sometimes even physically.

You'll see that change in them.

It's just incredible.

I mean, we have campers that have not missed a single year - not missed a single year.

I am Jamie DeMott, and I work for the Community Music School at Michigan State University.

It's one thing to throw yourself into the work and to see it happening and being excited for all these families.

And then I've lived a portion of it.

Colin is the reason we are involved with Camp.

Im Casey It's it's actually a little bit hard sometimes to talk about this.

We have always wanted kids.

We waited until I had done multiple degrees at MSU and we were ready.

And then we had Aubrey at 26 weeks.

They had ambulanced me from another hospital.

I had been diagnosed with pre-eclampsia and elevated liver enzymes.

My kidneys were starting to shut down and the only solution to this pregnancy affliction is delivery.

So I figured out how fast my Chevy truck would go When I went in, she was already in a room and I was counting hats because in a medical situation, the more hats, the more severe.

Aubrey was over three months early.

And now, you know, you would never know.

When I got pregnant with Colin we knew that there was significant chance that I could become ill again.

He was born between 30 and 31 weeks.

I was lying on that hospital bed thinking, this is going to be different.

And they called me.

They called me on the intercom and said "he's had a pulmonary hemorrhage."

He needed to be placed on life support.

And when I hear "lung bleed," I mean to me that's like game over.

We didn't know we were going to lose him.

He stayed in the NICU for almost 100 days Look.

That's you By six months old he wasn't meeting his physical milestones.

He didn't walk for a really, really long time.

And so.

All right, cool.

Physical therapy, occupational therapy.

Every week.

We notice that this kid loves music.

Bingo.

The minute that we got him his ukulele, I knew that music was going to be the major pathway that was going to facilitate things like speech, 3,2,1 go.

I don't know where he would be if it wasn't for music therapy.

You can tell that's what drives him to do things that are hard.

I've worked at CMS for a long time.

I worked with Cindy for 15 years and I only wanted her to work with him.

Collin is the sweetest thing on earth.

So loving, so giving, so energetic.

That first music therapy camp is where he took actual consecutive steps.

And it's a story I've seen for years.

I can remember Peyton standing for the first time in camp after they told her she would never stand.

Yeah, Peyton was very, very young, and when she came in, she could not stand up.

And she was so motivated by the activity that was taking place, which was this giant like a scrunchie in a circle and everybody's holding on and moving to the music.

All of a sudden I saw her stand up and I am like, screaming inside because I'm like, she's never stood up by herself.

She's motivated.

She's motivated by the other people.

She's motivated by the music.

Just to such a cool moment.

I have the fortunate capacity of seeing these stories every day, and then you see it with your own kid.

Cindy Edgerton's the one that got him to say "Mama" for the first time.

And that's why things like music therapy are so important for children like my son.

They're able to find their own voice.

They start getting confident.

I feel sweaty.

Sometimes he'll achieve more in a music therapy session than he will in six sessions of speech or O.T.

because it's fun.

I'm just proud that he can identify A Les Paul, a Telecaster.

He knows the difference.

He knows the difference between a Fender jazz bass and a P bass This kid is the most free spirit.

I'm so tired.

You're so tired.

Then let Aubrey snuggle you.

Okay?

You're kind of getting heavy.

He wants to explore.

He wants to get into all the things.

He wants to meet new people.

And when every ounce of you is saying, no, I want to keep you in this bubble, because this bubble is where I know you are the safest.

It's a real challenge.

And never has that challenge been more apparent than during than during the pandemic.

When COVID hit, we closed on March 13th, but with a child with health conditions, it's that much more.

I had a nephew that passed away from it.

So we locked down pretty hard.

COVID was so devastating because this is what so many of these campers look forward to every year.

COVID just sucked.

I try not to think about that time too much because I was just a mess.

Cindy called me and said, "Hey what do you think about trying music camp online?"

I wasn't going to stop.

We were really, really proud to pivot and offer RicStar's camp online rather than not hold camp at all.

Hi, everyone.

It's Governor Gretchen Whitmer here.

I wanted to take a moment to recognize everyone tuning in to the Eric RicStar Winter Virtual Music Therapy camp.

Although we can't all be together I'm happy to see you celebrating the joys of music especially during times like these.

Its going to say wait for Wait for the meeting host.

Oh look at that In the upper right hand corner of your Zoom screen It says “View” Hey!

Hey Beth!

Hey Jenna!

Welcome to camp.

Were all just getting our computers set up.

And getting ready.

At 9:30, our music therapist Jaime is going to join Us and were going to do percussion improv.

This is so wonderful.

It just is.

The music camp offered a virtual option for two years.

You got this It was stressful as it was for many people in learning how to do everything at home.

Are you going to say hello?

Yes.

Now look at all your favorite people in one spot.

Miss Erica and Miss McKenzie.

Music therapy helped us as a family so much during the pandemic because we locked down.

If you have a kid with underlying lung issues, the last thing you want them to catch is COVID.

I didn't let my kids leave the house for almost two full years.

And who is sitting right next to Brandi?

Shona good to see you Shona!

I'm so glad you're able to make it to Camp.

Adam did the Zoom thing, and they enjoyed that.

Adam, can you show us a little bit on those drums?

Show us what you can do.

David, yeah!

Zoom truly has become David's favorite couple of hours of the week.

I'm so grateful for it because it really gives him his his outlet.

Thats what its all about Thats what its all about It just wasnt the same.

It was just me at home sitting banging on some pots and pans like a five year old.

So I was trying not to be too loud, because I didn't want people to know what I was doing.

Virtual still isn't the same as camp.

We were so looking forward to the day when all the campers could return in person.

Because after two years there was real hope that we would be able to return year three.

It was a nail-biter.

Right now to the newest data on COVID here in Michigan State Health officials are updating their guidance to reflect Michigan is now entering what they're calling a post-surge recovery.

It was difficult to understand what we would need to do to move forward.

Ultimately, we did get the all clear from MSU to go ahead and hold camp in-person.

This is 20th year.

We have our first ever hybrid, so people could be virtual, people could be in-person.

It's totally their choice.

We are planning to go in-person.

So just to go through these, let's start with the adults.

Each camper gets placed in a group.

White group is going to be very difficult for music therapists because this is hybrid.

Composition corner takes place in the performance hall.

And that's where you'll have the drum set and the electric guitar and the bass and, you know, the instruments like that.

it's a real dance of pieces to make this work, to make sure the volunteers kind of know what their role is, because we provide one on one support for many of the campers.

My name is Tivon and I'm a student at MSU.

Yeah, my major is music performance.

I love to be a volunteer.

Just enjoy the music.

My name is Zoe Amberguy-McDermott.

I am one of the volunteers slash Buddy Ups.

Judy started a Buddy-Up program, which we still use to this day.

It's a program where students volunteer.

You know what our volunteers and our Buddy-Ups take with them these are people that lead, let's say, "normal lives" but what they've learned from our camp of actually working with individual disabilities for several days.

It happens for peer to peer to impact both because we see those students as learning more than the campers.

My name is Rhea Wyse I am a third year medical student at MSU.

It's kind of a new concept to me but I was like, I got to come check this out.

It seems like a great opportunity for me to learn more about people that are different from me.

Arent you excited about you don't know what's going to happen?

Welcome to the 20th anniversary of the Eric Ricstar Winter Music Therapy Camp Volunteer Training!

One of the most important things - it's not just the campers getting to be who they are for a change.

You guys get to be who you are because we put on so many masks outside.

When you're here, you have to be focused on what's going on right in front of you.

I'm Curtis This is my 11th year.

I think this is my fourth year.

I'm just a high school student near here.

And I really like doing this.

I'm a Fourth year music Education student at Eastern Michigan University, and this is my first time here.

This year is extra special if you see us tear up, if you see us get emotional, if you see us give bigger hugs than ever before, if you see the laughter that comes in that door again, because these people have not been able to see each other for two years, you'll understand what Ricstars Camp is all about.

I can't wait to be standing there and have those doors open.

It's like magical to me.

It's like, Oh, here they come.

Here they come.

We're in for another fun, RicStar's Camp.

LaShawna, its been so long!

I missed you!

Cindy!

It just makes my day to see you, and your beautiful face Yeah.

It's so cool to see everyone in person.

To see some of these people who spent time with Eric it's very meaningful for us.

My name's Sam Hadar.

It's important for me to be here to kind of honor Eric's legacy.

I Met Eric in fourth grade and we became really close friends.

I take a vacation off every year to come here.

That's how important it is to us and me.

Good morning Peyton!

Hi!

It's so good to be here.

Want to take Sam to the performance hall?

Awesome.

Hi.

When I went back to camp in person I felt like I was back to where I needed to be.

I was really happy.

Cindy was too.

Austin!

Oh!

How are you?

She gave me the biggest hug ever.

What do you think makes this camp so special?

Colin?

Music!

Hello, folks.

This is Ben Schneider from Lord Huron Welcome to the RicStar music camp.

My sister Jessica had a hard time integrating socially because of her disability, and music was really big for her.

It was her comfort.

She just always had headphones on and a Walkman playing.

She passed away when she was 25.

Judy and Dick Winter are just really warm folks.

They've been so welcoming to my family in terms of a little bit of shared experience.

I always want to support the camp because I think it's really important what they're doing.

It's giving people who might not otherwise have an opportunity, a chance to explore the world of music.

I saw it firsthand with my sister and I see it in myself.

Just how transformative music can be.

I hope you have a great year at camp this year.

Have fun making music, and remember, sometimes the music makes you.

Going back to in-person camp was very exciting for us and for Jaslene.

High Five, mom.

Just like that.

Also because she's with Brian every day and she loves Brian.

That's Jaslene and she's my buddy Im a Buddy-Up.

I really miss being able to do this camp.

Where do you want to sit?

In the front?

Alright.

I know with Jaslene like she loves it, interacting with other people.

Give me a hand.

Give me a hand.

Every camp day is different.

We have musical theater.

We have combo and song writing.

We have dance with My Chance to Dance.

My Chance to Dance is a program where we bring in a group that specializes in facilitating movement for those that have limited mobility.

I love this camp.

I was hit by a car back in 08 and the fact that Im still alive is because of music.

Oh, sounding good.

Jenna, can we hear a little bit more of you?

Jenna is a camper who comes up on the energy level that I'm trying to match.

Its like, man when she gets to singing in a microphone and the head gets going and she's looking right at you, it's like, wow.

Well, Louie we hit it off, like, almost immediately, because when it comes to music and the type of music that I like he just immediately understood like, Yeah, you're a rock-and-roll chick.

You get it.

It's just a joy to have that reunion in the relationship.

And then it's like those days never happened in between.

Alright guys.

That sounds pretty good.

I... fought the law I fought the law.

the law won!

All right.

Apparently, Evan fought the law, and the law won.

So maybe today the law fought Evan and Evan won.

Huh?

Maybe.

Maybe we flip it up a little bit.

Hey, whats up Paul?

Where are you going?

Alright, Guitar Jam.

Look out.

We have Guitar Jam with just a boatload of guitars and everybody gets the guitar to play.

Everybody participates.

They participate.

All right, so we're just gonna get strummin Were strummin Strummin with our fingers and our thumbins Were strummin Were strummin There you go, Lucas, yes!

So Lucas is ten.

Having a camp like this is amazing for him.

He has learned to express himself.

It's just wonderful to watch him come to life.

I fell in love with this work because it changed my definition of success with music.

It went from some sort of measurement of popularity or notoriety or some monetary value to does the music improve somebody else's life?

if you were to put your feelings in a color this morning, what color would that be?

Yellow.

All right.

He's got the yellow blues.

He's got the yellow blues.

With all those lovely colors its just so hard to choose.

This camp is a space to be uninhibited, to not be told to settle down or to be careful or to not touch things or to be quiet or, you know what I mean?

And in fact, it reverses all of those things and says, get excited, be loud.

To have that environment where it's really encouraged and nurtured and comfortable to do that, to express yourself.

The more people that can experience that, the better the world will be.

How you feeling there, David?

All right, don't be afraid strummin with us.

Just a city boy Born and raised in South Detroit took the midnight train going anywhere When I see a group of individuals that are just sort of like sharing it in a wide open sense, it kind of makes me sad for everybody else that can't find that space, you know?

And we also have comfort and support dogs that can be utilized any time during camp.

I'm Joan Spagnuolo Lolie Fabela And we're owners of Buddy's PALS.

We are “Pet Assisted Learning Service.” Hence the word PALS.

We got Lauren in the house say what up Lauren?

My daughter has developed such strong bonds and relationships... Sorry.

You know with Cindy and Jaime.

And it's important because she's not away from me very much.

We love music Made new friends We do not want camp to end!

Gonna rock this camp rock it inside out Were gonna rock this camp rock it inside out.

Last one!

Were going to Spartan country that's where we're going.

Roll right through for MSU watch the points keep growing Spartan teams are bound to win theyre fighting with a vim!

Rah!

Rah!

Rah!

Alright Jaslene, I'll see you tomorrow.

See you tomorrow.

Bye.

Rose Cooper is this remarkably larger-than-life local celebrity She loves to sing and she does it on a Harley.

She asked me what she could do to support camp as a volunteer.

Bring me down My levels too high Bring me down ain't nothin bring me down My levels too high Rose has a beautiful voice, and she was there at the at the entrance of the camp.

And so when we were dropping off Jaslene, Rose was there.

So we were watching her.

And then Jasmine got to touch her motorcycle.

Nothing ever lasts forever Everybody wants to rule the world This camp is just people you know, from everywhere out here to express their joy through music and through the power of music.

You have a song favorite?

“This Is Me” actually Oh, I love that song Sing it loud, sing it proud.

Never doubt any of the campers.

Never doubt what they're going to be capable of, what they might be attracted to, what they might bring to the table musically.

Never doubt them.

Camp music therapy - You are on the go all day long and you are paying attention to each camper in the group.

You're not just up there playing the song.

You are seeing who's doing what and who could you call on who's starting to play that maybe could play more?

Hey everybody.

We are on second half of day 2 and I am happily tired out from rocking.

I have not been able to wipe the smile off my face doing the things these kids, having the experience seeing the smiles.

What I take away from this is just pure serotonin.

They get to make music for three days straight and then at the end of that three days they get to get on stage and perform.

The showcase is like the big deal.

At the end of each camp we have something called the Be A Star showcase.

Everybody gets to perform on stage, something most of them have never done or never have the opportunity to do.

Everyone's on stage.

Parents and friends and family are all in the audience.

This is their turn.

I definitely am looking forward to our performance.

When you're in school, you might be in a choir, but you're in.

the back row in the corner and no one can see you and no one can hear you.

But here at the Be a Star Showcase, you are front and center and everybody can see you have a totally good time.

For the parents to be able to watch their children be successful at something, even if it's, you know, using their foot to make music.

The showcase that we do at the end of the camp can be kind of crazy because that's something we prepare for the very first day.

I honestly forget about my disability at that point.

Adam, when he does the Ricstar Camp finale, he likes to try to get the crowd going.

He thinks he's a rock star.

Tonight, everybodys going to rock That showcases is my favorite part of the whole camp.

Seeing Jaslene on stage performing is it's just a wonderful experience.

Rock me Jaslene like a wagon wheel Rock me Jaslene Anyway you feel Hey Jaslene rock me Colin!

Rock me Colin, like a wagon wheel Rock me Colin any way you feel Hey Colin rock me Rock me Olivia like a wagon wheel Rock me Olivia any way you feel Hey Olivia rock me Rock me Albert any way you feel Rock me Albert any way you feel Hey Albert rock me Rock me, Lucy like a wagon wheel Rock me Lucy any way you feel Hey Lucy rock me Ready!

Rock me, Lucas like a wagon wheel Rock me Lucas any way you feel To see the joy, to see all the levels of disability and abilities spotlighted and the feeling in the room is amazing.

What campers out here are ready to make some RicStar history?

David gets this smile on his face when he's just like, "I got you, man."

That's it.

Yeah, that's the "I got you, man" smile Just a small town girl living in a lonely world Took the midnight train going anywhere The singer is a pretty boy born and raised in South Detroit He took the midnight train going anywhere Strangers waiting Up and down the boulevard Their shadows searching through the night Streetlights, people Livin' just to find emotion Hidin', somewhere in the night Don't stop believin' Hold on to that feelin' Streetlights, people Don't stop believin' Hold on to that feelin' Streetlights, people Don't stop It's a time for parents to really be so proud for the kids to shine because they can and that's where the "star," Eric RicStar he was a star and I think they all are stars.

Thank you very much, see ya!

My favorite part is the the RicStars song!

Yeah I love this song so yeah touch touched my heart.

We get to hear Eric's music that he composed, and I know that they take joy in seeing other people enjoy the music.

This is pretty cool.

We haven't done this together, so I'm already getting chills.

You guys.

We're going to play two of Eric's compositions.

We're going to start with Eric's Melody Number 2.

Erics Melody Number 2.

Eric's music will live on forever.

Ever.

His actual music that he wrote will live on forever.

And the next one we're going to play for you is called Eric's Melody and Variations.

Thank you, Eric.

I never would have dreamed that the camp would have lasted so many years.

We just celebrated incredible year 20 and we also got a letter from President Biden commending us, which is a pretty cool thing.

Our camp has opened the eyes to a lot of people to see the value of music therapy.

It is a remarkably powerful tool in helping individuals with disabilities to make gains, and we wanted more people to know about it.

The power of music is undeniable.

It's magic.

It's the one thing that brings us all together.

Judy Winter and her husband co-founded the Eric RicStar Winter Music Therapy Camp.

And Judy was just telling me that the emotional change in these kids in this camp is unbelievable.

I know that Eric would be so incredibly proud of the work his mom has done.

Thank you for recognizing RicStar's Camp where no one is ever turned away because of age, disability or financial need.

Years ago we were told all the things our son would never achieve.

But Eric is still changing lives worldwide.

It's interesting to think about the impact of the camp over 20 years.

The fact that this camp has been going for 20 years just fills me with joy.

Because I think about the hundreds of students, the hundreds of children, the hundreds of adults whose lives have been enriched through this work.

It's the best camp that I've ever gone to.

The whole atmosphere is sowing seeds in the future.

I'm going to see you again.

I'll see you next summer, okay?

I'll see you soon.

Four?

What about four?

Are you saying “B”?

B?

B. Best friends forever.

BFF!!

It's probably one of the most fulfilling things in my life to see these kids to to do these things, and that these adults that are involved in these programs dedicate their lives to it.

It really gives me a lot of faith in humanity.

Kind of something sobering when you come here and you see all the kids because people don't think, you know, that can happen to them.

But it can.

And it does.

Look at how beautiful the trees are right now.

That's gorgeous right now.

one of the things that happened for me after Eric passed away is when I would go to the cemetery and I would look around into the sky, you know, not knowing, where did you go?

I would ask, where are you?

Where did you go?

Where are you?

I mean, for people of strong faith, they can answer that maybe a little bit easier.

I'm not quite that sure and convinced as to where we go after this.

I like to believe there's something better than this and we all get to take part in that.

But I learned that where Eric went every year at camp Eric went beautiful places.

When I see a child get to stand up for the first time ever given the opportunity.

When I see parents with tears in their eyes come up and hug us and say, "Thank you for giving my child a place where they feel welcome, where they feel respected, where they have opportunity to take part like everybody else."

That's when I know where Eric went.

That's what Eric is.

Year 20 and we're making a movie about you.

How cool is that?

Here you go buddy.

Much better.

Much better.

When Eric was born, I made a promise to him.

I said we're going to use everything that we learn to make a difference.

And that's why we've stuck to the path we have, which is to help other families.

I look at the systems and the structures that are in place.

The policies and laws.

The way things are set up are just not set up to be disability friendly.

We have the unique thing here in Michigan for David, being a car accident survivor that we had the Auto No Fault aid.

There's no way possible that we could have afforded to get him where he's at.

You could lose your house and everything else, and it would never touch the amount of therapy.

Two years ago, the insurance industry was successful in getting the Auto No Fault law changed.

We're going to continue to fight that.

When we do have a rally in the capital David's an amazing advocate.

What I stand for is that it could happen to anyone.

There's a lot of work that remains to be done.

It's really important for everybody to speak up on behalf of this population.

You need to be their voice if they if they don't have the voice.

Peyton has allowed us to grow and be people that I would not have been.

But she's taught me to fight.

Adam is always teaching me.

I've learned so much from that kid.

I know the guy that I used to be wasn't listening to nobody.

The older I get, the more I realize how many people are out there that need that acceptance.

I'm human.

That's really all of us want to be is seen as human.

Bottom line.

It was important for me to know Eric.

Eric had to work so hard to teach some of us some very basic lessons.

When Eric was very young, I was actually running marathons.

Eric was my motivator.

I have to finish, that's what's driven us.

It's always Eric.

I met Eric during our fourth grade year.

When Eric passed, I decided that I wanted to be a special education teacher.

Eric is my “why.” He's the why of what I'm doing.

And just to see Eric's legacy keep going forward... Just putting out love into the world.

I think of Eric all the time ad it's because of him that this whole thing is together.

He's still a part of our lives every year.

That's been the most special part to deal with something that was really difficult to deal with.

It's just so amazing to see where this camp has gone and how far it has come from the very beginning.

I became a nurse because of Eric.

I miss him and I know this is what he would want.

All the joy that he brought to me is just kind of what stuck there.

Okay, say cut!

Cut!

That's a wrap.

And his dream come true of having everyone together in a camp.

I know he's up there, dancing away, playing his guitar, rockin with us and just beaming.

This child who was never supposed to amount to much is still changing the world.