About Camp Hope 2026
Dates: 6/8/26-7/31/26 -- EIGHT weeks for the first time ever!
Location: Westminster Presbyterian Church | 1904 Mt Vernon St, Waynesboro, VA 22980
Open House for accepted campers: 6/6
Sibling week: 6/22-6/26 | 1 week for neurotypical siblings ages 5-12 to attend.
Cost: $550/week for full day, $450/week for half days.
The weeks of 6/15 and 6/29 will be prorated to reflect the 4-day weeks for the holidays.
Key application details:
The application goes live 1/20 for all members of the community. Applications are not prioritized based on time of submission or if campers are returning or new to camp! Application will close 2/10.
**New campers will each be interviewed to ensure that Camp Hope is a good fit and that we are able to meet their support needs! After being interviewed, families will be notified if their camper is eligible to attend Camp Hope 2026.
We are seeking additional counselors to make this summer at Camp Hope the best yet! Interested in becoming a counselor!? Counselor application link HERE
Camp Hope is our favorite time of year and we are very excited for another successful summer in 2026!
About Camp Hope
Camp Hope is an inclusive summer day camp for children ages 5-12 managing behavioral needs, mental health diagnoses, disabilities, and/or trauma. It offers trauma-competent programming to allow more access for children who are unable to attend an existing community based summer camp with their peers.
We believe every child and family should be able to experience the magic of summer camp!
Camp Hope participants have access to:
Equine-Assisted Therapy
Music Therapy
Art Therapy
Occupational Therapy
Nature Exploration
Sensory Experiences
De-escalation Spaces
Acceptance, Connection and Fun!
Research indicates the benefits of a camp experience for a child include:
Improvement in relationships with peers and adults
Increased confidence and independence
Easing of home tensions by providing parents a reprieve from the rigors of caregiving
(KidsHealth, 2018)
These positive outcomes continue to contribute to the growth and development of the child as they transition back to school, require less services during their school day and lead to a stronger and more functional family dynamic.
FAQ’s
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We piloted a tiered priority application model for 2025 with a lot of success! After consulting with a number of specialized camps across the country that use this model to create an application that will rank your camper's level of support needs to help us decide more objectively which children are most in need of Camp Hope. When we review the applications as a team, they will initially appear anonymously to us.
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No! A few years ago, we moved to grouping camp into three two-week sessions. We will pause this model again for 2026, as we have received numerous points of feedback from families that some would only like their camper to attend one week, three weeks instead of four, etc. This will allow for more spots. New campers still can only attend a maximum of two weeks and they must be consecutive.
Volunteer with us!
We are always looking for snack and supply donations, Camp activity volunteers, and support with set up/tear down.
Want to help in a tangible way? Sign-up below!
Send a Kid to Camp!
Your donation offers a child laughter, learning, security, and a summer that could change their life. Allowing kids of all abilities to just be kids!
