At first glance, the scene at Rancho Del Rey in Oak View resembles any other summer camp. Swimming, horseback riding, arts and crafts -- all staples of the camp experience -- are present.

But Whitney Hope's Camp Attitude is anything but typical. Named for its founder, Dan Whitney, the camp, designed for children with disabilities and their families, is a one-week reminder that no physical handicap can outweigh the power of the human spirit. The camp opened Monday.

Words like "can't" and "won't" are rarely uttered amongst the 21 campers.

"This camp provides an opportunity to kids with disabilities to do normal things in life, and do exceptional things," said Mark Zier, camp director and executive director of the Whitney Hope Foundation.

Zier and Whitney, longtime acquaintances, got the idea from a Camp Attitude in Oregon. For both men, who have dedicated much of their lives to providing inspiration to the less fortunate, the camp's creation is a small miracle in itself.

"People told us that it would take three to five years to get this done. It took us less than a year," said Zier. The entire camp was paid for through private donations and money raised from Whitney's inspirational speaking. For this reason, campers attend free, and its creators say it will stay that way.

"What we do here is try our best to give hope. We want people to know that people who have disabilities are important; this camp is specifically made for them, and we let them know this," explained Whitney, who knows firsthand what it's like to live with a disability.

Shortly before Christmas 2000, Whitney, entrepreneur and CEO of Veriscape Inc., was mountain biking with a group of friends near his house in San Jose when he accidentally flipped over the front of the bike, breaking his neck and C-4 vertebra. When he awoke a day later from surgery, he was facing the life of a quadriplegic.

"The doctors told me I had a one in a million chance of ever moving below my neck, and a one in infinity chance of walking," remembered Whitney.

Ignoring their predictions and never losing faith, Whitney, with the constant support of his wife, Candi, was back on his feet in less than a year and walking with the help of a crutch. He credits his remarkable recovery to the blessing of his higher power.

"Through my faith I know that God won't give me anything I can't handle, and that's basically how I got through this," said the camp's founder. Soon after, Whitney decided to create the nonprofit Whitney Hope Foundation to aid kids with disabilities.

With the help of scores of volunteers, many of them teens from Ventura County, campers and their families are offered a full week of activities and entertainment. On Tuesday, the group had dinner at the Ed Hunt Rehabilitation Beach in Oxnard and is scheduled to take in a Dodger game tonight.

Whitney credits the county, and its widespread support of Camp Attitude, for making the camp possible.

"It's absolutely incredible the way the community rallied around it, but I think that has a lot to do with the spirit of the camp," Whitney said.

During the week, each camper with a disability is assigned two volunteers, many from local youth ministries, who spend all day with a child helping them to get around and becoming their friend.

"These kids light up when they see them. At night, a lot of them fall asleep in their arms," said Nicole Wetzel, 21, a volunteer from Newbury Park. "(The volunteers) have such big hearts, they just love helping these kids.

Donna and Bob King brought their nine adopted children to Camp Attitude.

"It gives them a chance to all go together as a family and be around kids just like them," said Donna King. "Sometimes when you're in public, people are afraid to approach your kids; here, it's just the opposite.

"They have been looking forward to this week all year."

With just days left until the end of camp, it appears the hope and courage displayed at Rancho del Rey have affected more than just the campers.

"Once you leave a place like this, you're changed. When you see kids like this who have been though such unbelievable hardships, and see how happy they are, it really makes you take a different look at your life," said Ashley Bailey, 20, a volunteer from Ventura.