Our Mission
To give up to 25 preschool developmentally-disabled Salem children a therapeutic summer camp experience while each befriends a teenage “buddy” who receives valuable volunteer and career exploration experiences in exceptional childhood education and therapeutic interventions.
To connect.
To honor the life of Jill Bailey Chenet, whose positive character and Christian virtues profoundly touched all who knew her, and whose education significantly impacted the students and hearing-impaired children whom she so lovingly and masterfully taught.
To honor.
To encourage other school divisions, recreation departments and community civic organizations to offer Jill’s Buddy Camp in their locality throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia.
To grow.
Each teenage “buddy” receives a very fulfilling, 20-hour, volunteer experience giving him/her an opportunity to befriend a developmentally-challenged child; witness professionals in and explore the career fields of early childhood education, special education, speech pathology, adaptive physical education, school guidance, school and child psychology as well as learn many valuable parenting and child management concepts and skills.
