History

Bournelyf Special Camp (pronounced “born-a-leaf”) 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 Special Camp operates as a summer day camp in West Chester, PA, with programs involving outdoor recreational activities with a focus on lifetime wellness, and community outreach, in conjunction with developing communication and social skills for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. We promote the development of each camper’s potential through participation in an exciting variety of challenging outdoor activities.
 

 

 

Camp

Three different summer day-camp programs are offered to individuals with disabilities, ages 8 and up. Our Trailblazers program is offered to campers ages 8-17 years of age, the Expedition program for ages 18- 25 and Alumni programs ages 26 and up; we are proud to be able to say that no camper will ever "age out" of Bournelyf. All programs are geared towards meeting the needs of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Bournelyf Special Camp is the only summer day camp of its kind in Chester County, Pennsylvania, providing outdoor recreational activities for individuals with intellectual & developmental disabilities ages 8 and up.

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.

Bournelyf,  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.