St. Vincent De Paul camp is owned and operated by the Society of Saint Vincent De Paul Particular Council Kent Deanery. The camp opened in 1974 on a site 4 miles east of Thamesville on hwy #2 consisting of 69 acres with about 25 acres cleared and the remainder bush. The camp has provided children from all walks of life with a safe, exhilarating and memorable camping experience, regardless of their financial circumstances.

The camp is located in one of Canada's significant areas called Bothwell Forest/Skunk's Misery. It is one of few large forested tracts in southwestern Ontario and one of the most significant woodlands in Chatham-Kent for size, diversity, forest cover and rare species. The district Ecologist has identified 244 different species of plants.

There are a wide variety of activities with themes incorporated into each week. Experienced, creative and caring staff guides campers through these activities and strives to encourage, to educate and to challenge each camper. The Society is committed to giving all children regardless of denomination or financial circumstances a "SUMMER OF MEMORIES".

The camp is a member of the Ontario Camps Association. Each resident camper calls one of ten cabins his/her home for a week; each cabin accommodates ten campers and two staff counsellors. Thanks in part to the financial support of many SSVP Councils and Conferences, community service clubs, organizations and businesses; our on-going upgrading and expansion program has allowed us to accommodate 700 plus campers during the summer. We need to continue upgrading our facilities if we are to offer meaningful summer camping experiences. 

Some of the up-grades that we have been able to do over the years are; 2003- We were able to build 8 new larger cabins from Estate money that had been left to the camp.

2004- We had to pay $25,000 to upgrade the water filtration system

2006- Built a new 30 X 70 craft hall and storage building from Estate money We obtained grants to install new windows in the Rec hall/ Director House and Dining hall. We also upgraded the washrooms

2008- We added new playground equipment

We thank all the SSVP Councils and Conferences for sponsoring children to attend St Vincent De Paul Camp and also for your continued financial support. Please visit our web site www.svdpcamp.com for more information.

THE INVESTMENT WE MAKE IN OUR YOUTH WILL PAY BIG DIVIDENDS

Brenda Kormendy, President