About Family Camp
Do you or a family member have a developmental disability? When was the last time you had a vacation together? These unique, Christian faith-based camps are fully supported and accessible, so everybody – parents, people with disabilities, and siblings who are sometimes caregivers - can belong, have fun, relax, and recharge.
Do you want to be a difference-maker? As a volunteer, you can come alongside a person with a disability and help them have the best week ever. As a donor, you can make a family’s dream of an accessible vacation come true.
Open for registration
Camp Corban Fall Family Camp
Hillside Church: 138 Thompson Rd, London, November 2 - 3, 2024
Sometimes, all you need is a weekend away! Relax and recharge at Hillside church in London, where you can laugh, relax, and connect with other families in a supported and accessible environment.
Registration Draw for Winter Family Camps
Registration is open until Friday, October 18, 2024
Sign up for one of three winter family camps:
January 10 - 12, 2025 - Hidden Acres Camp, New Hamburg, ON (Attend Registration Closed)
January 24 - 26, 2025 - Galilee Bible Camp, Renfrew, On
February 28 - March 2, 2025 - Muskoka Bible Centre, Port Sydney, ON
Frequently Asked Questions
-
Karis Family Camps are Christian, faith-based, fully supported, and accessible vacation experiences hosted by Karis Disability Services in Ontario and Saskatchewan. They are designed for people with disabilities and their families. Our family camps usually range from a weekend to week-long adventures!
-
Our family camps welcome families who have a member with a disability. This includes adults with disabilities. If we have extra space, we may welcome families who do not experience disability to participate in a fun-filled camp. All types of families are welcome, from caregivers with children, to adult siblings.
-
When registration is live, you will find links to register on this page, just above this section. For most camps, registration is open to everybody. Due to the popularity of our Elim Lodge family camp, participants are invited to register through a draw.
-
Each camp has different rates. Camps that take place over 4 or 5 days are generally more expensive than weekend family camps, and some locations need to charge more depending on site costs. If finances are a challenge for you, be sure to reach out to us at familycamp@karis.org so we can see what we can do to make camp possible!
-
Everybody is welcome to apply to volunteer at a Karis Family Camp! Please note that because the family camp experience includes Christian worship and teaching, volunteers will need to be willing to support people's faith experiences and the values of Karis Family Camp.
-
Volunteers receive training so they can support families who experience disability to have an amazing time vacationing together! Volunteers do not need to have previous experience in supporting people with disabilities. They will not be asked to provide personal care. Volunteers will need to have a camper-centered approach and be ready for new experiences. We have an urgent need for volunteers so we can offer family camp to more families. You will be enriching many lives, including your own!
-
Yes! We welcome general donations to Karis Family Camps, but you are also welcome to designate which family camp you're donating to, or the family/volunteer you're supporting in the comments field of the volunteer form. You will need to enter a dollar amount, select "donate now," and then select the Family Camp designation on the donation form.
Upcoming camps
Camp Corban
Sometimes, all you need is a weekend away! Relax and recharge at Hillside church in London, where you can laugh, relax, and connect with other families in a supported and accessible environment.
Galilee Bible Camp
You’ll have so much fun at this beautiful winter retreat tubing and snowmobiling around the lake and singing worship songs in an accessible and supported place.
Elim Lodge
Our first-ever accessible, supported Family Camp was hosted here on beautiful Pigeon Lake. It’s a breath of fresh air when you can worship, swim in the sun, and enjoy a talent show in the place where Family Camp began.
Hidden Acres Camp (HAC)
Hidden Acres is truly an accessible and supported winter camp and retreat centre nestled among the gently rolling hills and farms of Perth County in Southwestern Ontario and has been operating for
over 50 years.
Saskatchewan Camp
Family Camp is coming to Saskatchewan! You will have the best time at a supported and accessible Family Camp – it is truly a place where everybody belongs, and where everybody’s gifts are valued and celebrated!
Volunteer or attend
Looking for more information about volunteering at or attending a Family Camp? Send us an email at familycamp@karis.org.
Send a family to camp
Families tell us every single year that Family Camp is one of the only places where they don’t have to apologize for their family’s differences, where they can let their guards down and where they feel valued and celebrated. And it may be their first vacation ever. You can make this dream come true!
Testimonials
Reimagining communities with Becca
Becca has been to a few Karis Family Camps and her mother told us it's one of the few places that are actually accessible.
Say Yes to Volunteering at Family Camp: Quentin's Story
Curious about volunteering at a Karis Family Camp? Quentin was a first-time volunteer and a week at a Karis Family Camp shifted his perspectives about accessibility and inclusion.