By Steve Edgcumbe

For nearly 40 years, Bournelyf Special Camp has not only been a refuge for individuals, ages 8 and older, with mild to moderate intellectual and developmental disabilities, but also their families. It’s the only summer day camp of its kind in Chester County.

Located on 20 bucolic acres at the Church of the Loving Shepherd on South New Street in West Chester, 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.

The camp’s property features open fields for outdoor recreational activities; a handicapped-accessible, Olympic-sized swimming pool; a nearby pond and woods; and indoor recreational space and a barn facility.

Bournelyf (pronounced “born-a-leaf”) was founded in 1980, and in 1989, it was incorporated as a nonprofit with its own Board of Directors and bylaws. It draws parents and community members to its board to support the broadening of its programs and to expand the camp’s ability to serve the community.

Three different programs are offered to individuals with special needs. The Trailblazers program is offered to campers ages 8 to 17; the Expedition program is for ages 18 to 25; and the Alumni programs are for ages 26 and older.

No camper will ever “age out” at Bournelyf Special Camp. While the summer is the busiest time for the camp, bi-monthly events are offered on the weekends from September through May. Events range from holiday-themed dances to day trips to the Jersey shore, community outreach, and attending local sports and social events.

Bournelyf is near and dear to the heart of current board member Bruce Friedman and his family. Friedman’s son, Josh, was a camper from 2008 to 2011, when he passed away at the age of 17.

“The camp was a huge part of Josh’s life,” said Friedman, the vice president for finance and administration at Immaculata University. “They do tremendous work serving more than 150 campers with special needs all year round.”

Remaining involved with Bournelyf is important to Friedman.

“What I remember most about Josh when he was a camper is that it was the one thing that he would wake right up for in the morning to get ready to go out the door,” he said. “He looked forward to it every day. He had a tough life from a medical standpoint, but he loved going to the camp. He fit right in. Some of his lifelong friends went to camp with him. They were a close group.”

Friedman’s wife, Pattie, and his two other children, son Noah, 21, and daughter Katie, 18, also have been involved with the camp as volunteers and camp counselors.

“When we lost our son, we were concerned we would lose touch with the camp community,” Friedman said. “But we have stayed involved and keep in touch with the families and Josh’s friends. It is a way for us to keep his memory alive.”

Executive Director Anne Catlin’s involvement with Bournelyf goes back 29 years, when she was 13, and her younger brother, Joey DeBenny, who has special needs, became a camper at age 9.

Catlin, now 42, first became a volunteer at the camp, then a counselor in training, then a counselor and assistant director, which then led to her position as executive director. Her brother Joey, now 38, is a member of the Alumni program.

Catlin’s involvement with the camp has even survived getting married, raising her own children, and moving to Texas with her husband and family in 2009.

With family still living in the West Chester area, Catlin returns every summer for eight weeks to be involved with summer camp activities.

During the remainder of the year, she is able to attend board meetings and committee meetings virtually via FaceTime and conduct other camp business via telephone, computer, and e-mail.

“I think one of the great things about Bournelyf Special Camp is that it has become like a family,” Catlin said. “Having been there for 29 years of my life, I have grown up with a lot of the campers and their families. It has been a truly unique and wonderful opportunity to have worked there and been around and influenced by all the campers.

“We are fortunate to have camp ‘lifers,’ as we call them. Campers and staff who return year after year.”

Click here for more information or to donate to Bournelyf Special Camp.

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