Hello to All our Camp Buddy Campers and Parents!
We are excited to be celebrating our 17th year of Camp Buddy in 2026. So many wonderful years, so many wonderful campers, and so many wonderful memories have been made.
Before I go any further, we must say a HUGE THANK YOU to Molly Marchese and Pam Hussey for their 16 years of dedicated service as our Camp Buddy Effingham and Camp Buddy Chatham Directors respectively. We are so appreciative of their hard work in making Camp Buddy such a tremendous success, and we wish them well in their retirement as our Camp Directors.
Now, we look ahead to Camp Buddy 2026. Again this summer, the Lowcountry Down Syndrome Society will be holding its 17th annual summer camp for children with Down syndrome in both Chatham and Effingham counties. The main purpose of this camp is to provide much needed physical, occupational and speech therapies and promote the retention of the educational accomplishments that our children have made during the school year by bridging the summer months to the upcoming school year. This, hopefully, will prevent or lessen the loss of gains that our children worked so hard to achieve. Camp Buddy will help them face their challenges and continue to succeed.
Each year, the campers have benefited from the camp and excelled in many areas. There are special education teachers and speech, occupational, and physical therapists who will provide individualized therapies for your child. Also, further instructional recommendations specific to each child will be made and discussed with you as parents so that you can continue to work with your child at home.
With so many years of camp and so many of our campers starting camp as early as three years of age, we have encountered a new challenge after 16 years of camp. We now have to think about our young adult campers graduating to their next journey. There are many opportunities in our area for our young adults that address their specific needs as they enter adulthood. These opportunities include participating in activities and events hosted by some of our non profit partners such as Buddies and Blessings, AMBUCS, ESP, Dragonfly Social, Party with a Purpose at Georgia Southern, and many more. Beginning NEXT YEAR (2027), Camp Buddy will be offered for campers aged 3 years through 22 years of age. What this means is that ALL CAMPERS ARE WELCOME THIS YEAR (2026)! We will be celebrating our Camp Buddy Graduates beginning this year (2026) with a special Graduation Ceremony on the last day of both Camp Buddy Effingham and Camp Buddy Chatham. We want to make sure to send our Camp Buddy Graduates off in style!
Now, let’s talk details for each Camp Buddy:
Camp Buddy EFFINGHAM
- Dates: June 8-12
- Place: Blandford Elementary School and various locations in the community
- Time: ***Please note that your child will come different hours and days depending on the group they are in. Specific details with that information coming soon! For the older group and HS Grad groups, there will be the overnight camp Sunday, June 7, as well as some activities during the week.
Camp Buddy participants only need to bring a snack and drink/water bottle.
All campers will be participating in many activities and will need to wear tennis shoes each day.
ALL CAMPERS FOR CAMP BUDDY EFFINGHAM WILL NEED A DOCTOR’S ORDER FOR PHYSICAL, OCCUPATIONAL, AND SPEECH THERAPY FOR CAMP BUDDY, JUNE 8-12.
The deadline for camper registration is Thursday, May 1st for Camp Buddy Effingham.
Camp Buddy CHATHAM
- Dates: June 22-26
- Place: St. Andrew’s School and various locations in the community
- Time: ***Please note that your child will come different hours and days depending on the group they are in. Specific details with that information coming soon!
Camp Buddy participants only need to bring a snack and drink/water bottle.
All campers will be participating in many activities and will need to wear tennis shoes each day.
ALL CAMPERS FOR CAMP BUDDY CHATHAM WILL NEED A DOCTOR’S ORDER FOR PHYSICAL, OCCUPATIONAL, AND SPEECH THERAPY FOR CAMP BUDDY, JUNE 22-26.
The deadline for camper registration is Thursday, May 1st for Camp Buddy Chatham.
Each day, parents will be notified of the schedule and special activities for the next day. Please make every effort to have your child at camp on time, so they can receive the full benefit of the services provided. Please let your camp director know in advance if your child will not be at camp on a certain day. We will be sending another letter out soon with more specific information such as schedules and what group the campers are in.
Please feel free to contact Candy Bogardus at any time with questions, suggestions, or concerns at 912-663-8573 or jcbogardus@gmail.com or Lindsey Barron at 229-457-7974 or lbarron@ldssga.org.
DO NOT MISS THIS NEXT PART: We have received a very generous, sizeable donation that will cover the cost of therapists and teachers salaries for both Camp Buddy Effingham and Camp Buddy Chatham. You will only need to pay a registration fee of $30.00 for your camper to attend Camp Buddy. Your child can attend both Effingham and Chatham camps if desired. You will need to pay the registration fee for EACH camp.
Thank you so much for allowing your child to participate in Camp Buddy. We look forward to sharing this great opportunity with you and your child. Please pray for the overall success and impact of Camp Buddy.
Sincerely,
Candy Bogardus, President, LDSS
Lindsey Barron. Administrative Assistant, LDSS