You are here: Home » Camp Information
General Camp Information
Bournelyf Special Camp is the only summer day camp of its kind in Chester County, Pennsylvania, providing structured activities for youth aged 8 through young adult with mild to moderate mental retardation and related disabilities. The mission of the Camp is to develop participants’ abilities by helping them build confidence, improve social and communication skills, and become more physically fit through challenging but achievable physical activities and by interaction with others.
The Camp was founded in 1980 as a service project of the Church of the Loving Shepherd, a congregation welcoming people of all religious backgrounds, and one of its congregants, Jim Scanlon. In 1989 the camp was incorporated as a Pennsylvania nonprofit organization with its own Board of Directors and by-laws, drawing parents and community members to the board in order to support the broadening of its programs and to expand the camp’s ability to serve the community.
Bournelyf (pronounced “born-a-leaf”), the home of the Church of the Loving Shepherd, continues to offer campers a beautiful site, with twenty acres of fields; a handicapped-accessible, Olympic-sized swimming pool; a nearby pond and woods; and indoor recreational space.
Swimming, hiking, camping, boating, horseback riding at Thorncroft Equestrian Center, physical conditioning, and other outdoor activities are central to the Bournelyf camping experience. The Camp offers three summer sessions of two weeks each, accommodating 45 campers during each session. In addition, it offers the six-week “Expedition” program for campers 18-21 years old and an “Alumnae Week” for past participants over age 21. The Expedition program incorporates outdoor activities, life skills programming, and woodworking.