Recreational Services & Camp Rainbow

Recreational Services enrich the children’s lives by strengthening their social interactions & creativity.

Socialization is provided through various activities such as therapeutic swimming, music therapy, birthday celebrations, involvement with volunteers, participation in Boy and Girl Scout activities, special holiday events, and games. Community outings are a vital part of St. Edmond’s Recreational Services offering trips to: Sporting events, beach adventures, carnivals, theatre/performing arts, aquarium, zoo, hayrides, museums, proms, theme parks, bowling, shopping and many many more. Children experience a growth in creativity through variety of sensory stimulation activities such as arts and crafts, cooking, gardening, music therapy and animal therapy.

St. Edmond’s Home has also partnered with the education outreach branch of Walnut Street Theatre (WST) in Center City Philadelphia. A representative from WST comes twice a month to introduce the children to the performing arts through interactive workshops. The children benefit from socialization, sensory play, use of imagination, and awareness of their body and voice. They engage in imagination journeys, storytelling experiences, character development and movement. This program is a wonderful outlet for expressing feelings and for having fun.

Ashley, our Walnut Street Theatre “artist in residence” adapts each workshop to the children’s abilities and interest. One week one of the boys was enjoying and reacting to the song “Car Wash.” The following session Ashley had the children go through a car wash created by fabric hanging by a hula-hoop, someone blowing bubbles and a squirt bottle. The children loved it!

Camp Rainbow provides full day programming Monday through Friday for 8 weeks from June- August and is offered to children that live within the community. Children are greeted with a calendar of creative theme weeks and endless activities including- swimming, cooking, gardening, snoezelen, arts and crafts, & therapeutic positioning. The children are placed in small groups allowing for a more individualized programming plan. These small groups then join together for a large group activity pertaining to the theme week at hand such as:

• 4th of July Parade and BBQ- the children, along with their wheelchairs, bikes & other positioning equipment, are decorated in patriotic bliss. The children then parade along the grounds of St. Edmond’s while visitors and volunteers, from the community, line the parade route cheering and applauding for the children.
• Talent Show- groups share their talents competing for a coveted trophy performing for a captive audience.
• Market Place- individual groups create and design works of art to be sold at this yearly event.
• Survivor- groups participate in a variety of unique competitions throughout the week such as cooking challenges, relays, eating contest, group banner contest, and building survivor equipment such as a tent, raft, or canoe out of cardboard

These annual weeks are accompanied by new & creative theme weeks offering new & exciting activities for the children to experience.

The children also venture out on multiple community outings- including The Mann Center, bowling, Dave & Buster’s, Adventure Aquarium, Upper Darby Summer Stage, Please Touch Museum, Baseball games & other fun destinations. The hiring of additional staff/counselors provides the children with enhanced companionship throughout this 8 week program- adding to the excitement and energetic atmosphere that defines Camp Rainbow.