Camp Virginia Jaycee, Inc Frequently Asked Questions

 

Camp Virginia Jaycee, Inc.

Camp Virginia Jaycee is a year round residential outdoor recreation and educational facility for children and adults with special needs. The Camp, a 501 (c) 3 organization, is located on 90 acres in Bedford, Virginia. Originally sponsored jointly by The Virginia Jaycees and the Virginia Association for Retarded Children, the Camp now functions as a separate non-profit corporation.

The idea of establishing a camp for children with special needs first originated in 1969 when a young Jaycee from Roanoke, Bill Robertson, saw the need and convinced The Virginia Jaycees they should sell apple jelly to build a camp. Since that time, the Jaycees of Virginia have raised funds for land acquisition, buildings, renovations, and camperships. Today many other organizations and individuals partner with Camp Virginia Jaycee to bring services to people with special needs.

Children and adults with special needs can be helped physically, mentally, and emotionally by an outdoor education and recreation experience. Yet the National Association for Retarded Children has pointed out that only a small percentage of the citizens with these disabilities have actually been involved in existing tax supported public recreational facilities and programs. Camp Virginia Jaycee brings these special people an experience that may enable them to assume a more normal life.

The programs at Camp Virginia Jaycee are designed to give campers new outdoor experiences that provide opportunities for socialization and recreation. Current activity areas provided by the Camp include swimming, arts and crafts, barn and horseback riding, music, sports and recreation, and tent camping and nature. In addition, each evening, campers enjoy various programs such as dances, hayrides, talent and skit shows, campfire programs, scavenger hunts, puppet shows, singing, carnivals, outside bands, magicians, horse shows, gymnastics and our newest addition the climbing wall. These programs give enjoyment and foster socialization skills.

Perhaps a better way of saying just what the Camp provides is a quote by Luther Burbank:

"Every child should have mud pies, grasshoppers, water bugs,
tadpoles, frogs, mud turtles, elderberries, wild strawberries,
acorns, chestnuts, trees to climb, brooks to wade in, water lilies,
woodchucks, bats, bees, butterflies, various animals to pet,
hay fields, pine cones, rocks to roll, sand, snakes,
huckleberries and hornets, and any child who has been deprived
of these has been deprived of the best part of his education."

Although the major emphasis is on enjoyment and recreation, self-help skills are taught and encouraged. Many children and adults with special needs have become more adept at their daily living skills through participating with peers and staff. In most instances, the success of the camping program at Camp Virginia Jaycee is measured in terms of smiles and laughter coming from campers who all too seldom enjoy such pleasant experiences, but often the results are not more striking than when a child feeds himself for the first time or when they begin to communicate with others.