Under normal circumstances, the 120,000-square foot wellness and recreation center on the campus of the University of Miami (Florida) provides programs and services for students, staff, faculty, alumni and trustees. In the summer months, the center also is the staging ground for the Mini Canes Recreational Sports Camp.

But last fall provided less-than-normal circumstances. When Hurricane Wilma slammed into the southern coast of Florida and closed schools for a week, the center served as a haven for more than 100 children of university employees and students.

The center traditionally opens as quickly as possible in the aftermath of a hurricane or crisis so that members of the university community have somewhere to shower or clean up, especially in the case of power or water outages in their homes. The response was no different in the wake of the destruction Wilma left behind in October.

What was different was the fact that the university was open and the local school system was not. To help university personnel with children, university President Donna Shalala asked the center to provide free day care for faculty and staff with kids ages 6-12. In less than 12 hours, “Camp Wilma” was launched.

“The University of Miami is the largest private employer in Miami-Dade County. It was important that we open so that the community could develop some sense of normalcy after the hurricane,” said Norm Parsons, director of Miami’s department of wellness and recreation. “The camp enabled university employees who have children to drop them off in a safe, well-maintained environment so they could go to work and help us get started on our normal daily activities.”

Under the leadership of Rhonda Dubord, associate director of the department of wellness and recreation at the school, the staff relied on supplies and resources dedicated to the summer sports camp to get Camp Wilma operational in less than a day. For three days, from as early as 8 a.m. until as late as 6 or 7 p.m., the camp was in full swing. Word quickly spread, and the numbers swelled from 13 on the first day to a total of 105.

A staff of 15, which included three high-school students who had assisted during the summer camp, kept campers entertained with games, arts and crafts, while also providing lunch and snacks during the three-day experience. On the final day, the children helped Miami’s mascot, Sebastian, celebrate his 50th birthday. They also met head football coach Larry Coker and attended one of the football team’s closed practices as the squad prepared for a key matchup against Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Dubord said one of the toughest parts of pulling the camp together so quickly was unpacking all the summer camp supplies that had been stowed away. Locating staff who could assist also proved challenging, given limited phone service, closed or damaged roadways and many homes without power.

Those factors also made it difficult for university personnel to take advantage of the free service. The center was prepared for as many as 200 children; however, given the short turnaround time to organize the day camp and the lack of solid means of communication, Parsons said he was surprised — and pleased — at the number of children able to participate.

“This drove home to me how quickly the university — through our department and others — was able to react. The parents were extremely grateful. President Shalala and our department received a lot of thank-you letters,” said Parsons. “Our staff and kids who were coming in and working may or may not have had electricity; their houses could have been damaged, yet they took time to figure out a way to help the bigger cause, which was for our university to help the community.”

In the end, Camp Wilma was a resounding success. While Parsons, Dubord and the rest aren’t necessarily hoping for a repeat performance anytime soon, the wellness center staff already is looking ahead in case there is a next time. In the future, child care will be part of the services the university will offer should it be open while local schools remain closed. Staff also has begun working with the school of education to identify graduate students in the area who may be able to provide educational programming for campers.