On Monday, we hosted our final group of the summer.
Our first group joined us on May 28th. Since then, there were only 10 business days we did not have a group on campus with us.
We hosted a variety of organizations, ran our own camps and retreats, and finished the summer with countless stories to tell.
Every story is one of connection, joy, service, and belonging.
Today, I’m going to share:
- Summer by the numbers
- The last group here at Camino
- Our farm and Provisions mission
And the upcoming retreat opportunities this fall.
Summer by The Numbers
Before getting into the numbers, I would just like to highlight that most of the groups we served this summer came for tours in the winter when the builds were truly not but shells.
They really had no idea what they’d be signing up for.
Thankfully everyone trusted our mission because we just wrapped up an incredible first summer at Camino Farms!
Over the past three months:
- 9,000 meals served from our kitchen
- 1,000 people welcomed through camps, retreats, and experiences
- 18 partner organizations that took a chance on a new adventure and were willing to learn alongside us
- 30 summer staff members who made it all truly unforgettable
For summer camps, we partnered with Independence Mission Schools Camp, St. Martin of Tours Mantle of Mercy Camp, Calvary Baptist Camp, Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation.
And we also ran three of our own signature camps: Wildflower Rising, Camino Belong, and Camino Works.
For our retreats (both religious and staff retreats), we partnered with the following organizations: You Are Made New, UrbanPromise, Shalom Retreat, Pope John Paul II, Friends of the Children, Cristo Rey, Gesu School, Merion Mercy Academy, CORA, Notre Dame.
We have been so honored to serve such an eclectic group of groups this summer!
Between the church groups, staff retreat days, serving marginalized populations, and welcoming those with disabilities, our first summer was exactly what we intended…
a place of joy and peace amidst the pace of everyday life.
Notre Dame Academy Staff Retreat
Our last retreat of the summer was Notre Dame Staff Retreat to kick off their school year.
The Academy of Notre Dame de Namur, an independent Catholic school dedicated to excellence in academics and to the charism of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur.
The Foundress of the Sisters of Notre Dame is Saint Julie Billiart.
One of her famous quotes is:
"You are not asked to do all the good in the world, but just the bit that lies in your power.”
And the staff at Notre Dame did plenty in their power to help us extend our hospitality beyond the gates of Camino!
This was another Camino-supported Retreat that featured:
- wellness activities
- service activities
- Mass at noon under the pavilion
For wellness activities, they enjoyed pickleball, art therapy, and yoga.
Services activities included:
- making casseroles
- putting stickers on the egg cartons
- cleaning stalls in our animal-therapy barn
- and helping to clean the barn at our farm as well
This was the first group that helped as at the actual farm!
Thank you to Notre Dame for joining us on campus. We appreciate the kind words from the staff who said they enjoyed their time on the farm!
Their service will help us to continue serving those struggling with homelessness and addiction, as well as those in food insecure areas.
And their service in the barn is a great segue into the donations made through the farm this summer!
Provisions at Camino
As part of our farm operations, we process and donate fresh beef, chicken, and eggs to local food pantries.
Since May we’ve donated:
- 10,611 lbs of chicken
- 714 dozen eggs totaling 8568 eggs
Next week, we’ll be doing a full cover on our Provision program.
Most of our communication to this point has been about camps and retreats, so we're excited to cover our farm operations, including a feature of our farm manager, Baylor.
Upcoming Retreats and Group Availability
Women's Retreat — Wednesday, September 16, 9:30 AM to 3 PM.
We'll start at the Padre Pio Shrine in Barto, eight minutes from campus, with Confession at 9:30 and Mass at 10:30. From there we head to Camino Farms for a simple lunch, a short video, and time for reflection, rest, and prayer. $30 per person, collected the day of, covering lunch, materials, and everything else. RSVP by September 8.
Full details on the retreat flyer here.
And you can find the registration form here.
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Retreat Availability - October 22–25.
We just had an opening come available for the weekend listed above.
If you've been thinking about bringing a group up, there are three ways to do it:
- You host. Bring your group and your own programming. We handle the space, meals, and logistics.
- Supported. You lead, we fill in — service projects, farm work, activities, whatever rounds out your weekend.
- Camino-led. We build and run the whole thing with you.
Late October at Camino is a beautiful time to enjoy the peace and serenity of campus, with the fall foliage being as good as it gets.
Please reach out if you have interest in joining us at Camino!
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Closing Thoughts
Looking back on our first summer, it was exactly what we envisioned.
It was a pleasure meeting and serving so many of you.
If you joined us up here this summer—as a camper family, a retreat guest, a volunteer, or a partner—I'd love to hear from you. We’d love to hear about your experience.
What you liked, what you didn’t like, and the different things you’d like to see at Camino.
With your input, we can continue to make this a place of joy, connection, and belonging for all.
Thank you for following along this summer.
Enjoy the long weekend!
Katrina
Executive Director, Camino Farms
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