our benefits
why choose us
The mission of Camp Spifida is to provide a typical camping experience, allowing for health and physical limitations, with emphasis on positive self-image, independence and self-assurance in all campers.
At Camp Spifida we believe that every child should be able to spend a week at camp - laughing, swimming, and singing around the campfire, but for children with spina bifida, summer camp was only a faraway dream until Camp Spifida was formed over 2 decades ago. Children ages 6 through 18 attend camp for a week full of fun and friendship.
Camp Spifida has been serving children since 1992, first as a day camp, then as a six-day overnight camping experience in the beautiful fields and woodlands of central Pennsylvania. It was created by a noted spina bifida specialist, the late Dr. Oscar Oberkircher, his family, and other volunteers.
A tortoise is the camp's mascot, because, as someone said, "Our kids remind us of the Tortoise and the Hare. It may take a while for them to get where they are going, but they always manage to get there!"
If you are aware of any child with spina bifida, who might like to share in this wonderful camping experience, please contact us.
Camp Spifida is under the administration of Camps for Spiffy-Kyds, Inc., a non-profit organization that has been incorporated in Pennsylvania since 1994.