BELWOOD – Organizers hope they’ll be able to hold a special ceremony this year to mark the 75th anniversary of Belwood Lodge and Camp.
But after a year of being shut down due to the pandemic, just being able to welcome campers in person this summer will be celebration enough, says camp director Maddie Rawling.
“We hope to bring campers here in whatever way we can safely do so,” she said in an interview.
“The 75th anniversary is huge, and we’ll also be celebrating our founder. The Kiwanis Club of Guelph turns 100 this year. It will be a historic year for us.
“But our first priority is getting camp going again.”
Belwood Lodge and Camp is a residential summer camp that meets the recreational needs of children, youth and adults with intellectual disabilities.
It was a project of the Kiwanis Club of Guelph and originally opened in 1946 as Camp Belwood, a camp for underprivileged youth.
“The project quickly discovered the intersection between the underprivileged and the population with disabilities and the focus shifted to offering camp programs for people with intellectual disabilities,” reads the history on the camp’s website.
Ken Catteau, chair of the board of directors, said the Kiwanis club used to run the camp but it is now its own entity separate from Kiwanis, although the club leases the land from the Grand River Conservation Area and also provides some funding.
As a member of the Guelph Kiwanis, Catteau said he started volunteering at the camp 10 years ago and immediately came to love it.
“It’s a special place,” he said. “A great experience for the campers and respite for the caregivers. And the camp counsellors we hire, often students, get their eyes opened to special needs people.
“For me, if I had a tough day at work, I’d go to the camp and suddenly it’s a great day.”
In the beginning, there was only an old stone farmhouse on the property and campers slept in tents. Over the years cabins and washrooms were added, along with sleeping quarters for staff.
In 1985, Camp Belwood incorporated as Belwood Lodge and Camp and from 2006 to 2011 the iconic, brightly-coloured accessible cabins were built.
These colourful cabins are large, accessible and part of what makes Belwood Lodge and Camp so special. Photo by Joanne Shuttleworth
Now the pressing need is to replace the septic system, as environmental requirements have changed and the current system is old.
The camp is seeking donations through an online capital fundraising campaign.
Many of the campers have been attending Belwood since they were children and now some are in their 70 and 80s.
“It started for children, but the average age is 30 or 40,” said Bev Mackenzie, whose daughter Kelly, 32, has attended camp at Belwood for 22 years.
“This has been their vacation for their whole lives.”
The benefits are the same as any camp experience, she said – learning new skills, making friends and spending time in nature.
For this population, there’s the added benefit of the facility being accessible and adaptable with its programming.
“It doesn’t seem to matter what their capabilities are,” Mackenzie said. “Everyone can participate in every activity. It’s just wonderful.”
She said she sent Kelly to a regular camp when she was a child, and she was integrated into the regular population.
But she couldn’t always do every activity – Kelly is in a wheelchair and legally blind with limited peripheral vision only – and that meant she had a different camp experience than other campers.
“They really tried to accommodate her, but Kelly had a separate experience from everyone else,” she said.
“At Belwood, everyone can get on the stage, everyone can get in the pool, everyone can do everything. It’s wonderful.”
With Kelly in good hands for a week or two, Mackenzie and her husband have been able to take a break as well. Respite for the caregiver is invaluable and another benefit of the camp.
“It enabled my husband and I to travel a bit and that’s been good for us,” she said.
Mackenzie, also a camp board member, noted she’s proud that, along with the cabins, the grounds themselves are becoming more wheelchair and walker accessible with the addition of paved paths and wheelchair ramps at buildings and the pool.
“It’s been exciting to see and a very rewarding experience,” she said.
An outdoor movie is a fun way to end the day at Belwood Lodge and Camp, which turns 75 this year. Submitted photo
Rawling, the new camp director, joined the team in December so this will be her first summer at Belwood.
But she has worked in camp settings through Easter Seals and knows how important the camp experience can be for the people who come.
“Everyone is accepted at camp. There are no limitations,” Rawling said.
“At camp you see folks who don’t get the same opportunities outside camp. They are fully accepted, and they can do all the activities.
“It’s a very special and unique experience for them. And it’s an amazing place to be.”
Rawling said officials hope to have the camp operating this summer, though capacity will be reduced, with four campers per cabin instead of 10, and campers will only be able to mix with one other cabin for meals and activities.
“I know camp is about bringing people together and this is opposite. But we want to keep things as safe as possible,” she said. “We can still build the camp spirit.”
Rawling said officials developed an online camp last summer and it was so successful they ran it through the winter as well.
“Virtual camp was a huge bonus, so we’ll also run virtual camp this summer,” she said.
She added some families are opting to keep their campers home another summer for a variety of reasons, including second-dose vaccination appointments.
More information about the camp and the fundraising campaign can be found at www.belwoodlodgeandcamp.com.
