A Place Where Everyone Belongs
Camino Farms is a Catholic nonprofit community rooted in faith, hospitality, and the belief that every person has inherent dignity, purpose, and gifts to share.
Set on 200 acres in Bally, Pennsylvania, Camino brings people together through camps, retreats, inclusive programming, workforce development, service, and experiences designed to create meaningful connection.
At the heart of everything we do is a simple belief: everyone deserves to know that they belong.
Our Story
Camino Farms began with a vision for a place where people could step away from the busyness of everyday life, encounter one another more deeply, and experience genuine community.
For founders Katie and Pierce Keating, that vision was shaped profoundly by their son, Luke, who has Down syndrome. Through Luke, their family experienced firsthand both the incredible gifts people with intellectual and developmental disabilities bring to a community and the barriers that can too often keep those gifts from being fully recognized.
They began imagining something different.
A place where people of all abilities could participate fully.
A place where individuals and families could find rest, joy, friendship, and support.
A place where young people from different backgrounds could share experiences and discover how much they have in common.
A place where faith was not simply something talked about, but something lived through hospitality, service, relationship, and love.
In 2021, that vision found a home on 200 acres of farmland in Berks County, Pennsylvania.
After years of dreaming, planning, building, and preparing, Camino Farms officially opened its campus in May 2026.
Our first summer brought that vision to life in ways we could only have imagined. Over eight weeks, Camino welcomed hundreds of campers and participants through partner camp weeks, our own signature programs, and experiences intentionally designed for people of different backgrounds and abilities.
The campus came alive with campfires and cookouts, swimming and sports, animals and adventures, prayer and reflection, service and shared meals — but most importantly, with relationships.
It was only our first summer, but it offered a glimpse of what Camino can become: a place where people who might not otherwise cross paths come together and discover how much they have to offer one another.
And we're just getting started.
Why Camino?
Camino means “the way” or “the path.”
We chose the name because we believe every person's path is different, but none of us is meant to walk it alone.
At Camino, people who might not otherwise cross paths have the opportunity to live, learn, serve, pray, play, and share life alongside one another.
And often, those encounters change us.
Because belonging isn't simply about being welcomed into a place.
It's about being known, valued, and recognizing that you have something important to contribute.
Rooted in Catholic Faith
Our Catholic faith is at the heart of who we are.
We believe every person is created in the image and likeness of God and therefore possesses an inherent dignity that can never be earned or taken away.
That belief shapes how we welcome people, how we serve, and how we build community.
Our faith calls us to recognize Christ in one another, to walk alongside those who are too often overlooked or left on the margins, and to create spaces where every person's gifts are seen and celebrated.
While our Catholic identity grounds our mission, our doors are open wide.
Camino joyfully welcomes individuals, families, schools, organizations, and communities of all faith traditions and backgrounds. There is no expectation that someone share our Catholic faith to participate in or experience Camino.
We simply hope that everyone who comes here experiences what our faith calls us to offer: radical hospitality, authentic relationship, and the knowledge that they are deeply valued.
What Happens at Camino
Camino is more than a camp. More than a retreat center. More than a farm.
It is a place designed to bring people together.
Our campus includes overnight cabins, gathering and meeting spaces, a chapel, gymnasium, commercial kitchen, outdoor pavilion, swimming pool and splash pad, animal barn, sports fields, pickleball and basketball courts, climbing and fitness areas, and acres of open space
But the property itself isn't what makes Camino special.
It's what happens when people come together here.
Friendships form. Confidence grows. Assumptions change. People slow down. Gifts are discovered. And individuals who may have spent much of their lives being told where they don't fit discover a community that recognizes how much they have to offer.
Throughout the year, Camino welcomes guests for:
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Summer camps and immersive experiences where young people can explore, build friendships, try new things, and simply have fun.
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Programs intentionally designed to create meaningful opportunities for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities to build friendships, develop confidence, discover new interests, and participate fully in community life.
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Day and overnight experiences that give schools, organizations, families, faith communities, and individuals space to step away, reconnect, reflect, and grow.
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Using the resources of our farm to help nourish our neighbors through the production and donation of fresh food to communities experiencing food insecurity.
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Opportunities for volunteers, schools, businesses, families, and community partners to work alongside one another and contribute their gifts.
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Hands-on opportunities for individuals to develop practical skills, confidence, independence, and pathways toward meaningful employment.
What Belonging Means Here
At Camino, inclusion is not simply about inviting someone into a space.
We want every person to know that the community is better because they are part of it.
That philosophy shapes everything we do.
Dignity
Every person has inherent worth and gifts worthy of being recognized.
Encounter
We intentionally create opportunities for people from different backgrounds, experiences, and abilities to know one another personally.
Belonging
Being included matters. Being known, needed, and valued matters even more.
Service
We believe our gifts are meant to be shared and that serving one another changes both the person giving and the person receiving.
Hospitality
We want people to feel genuinely welcomed, cared for, and at home from the moment they arrive.
A Place Built for Possibility
Across 200 acres of rolling Pennsylvania farmland, Camino offers room to explore, play, reflect, pray, work, and simply be together.
Come Walk With Us
Camino is still at the beginning of its journey.
And we believe the best of what this place will become will be built alongside the people who walk through its doors.
Whether you come for camp, spend a day on retreat, volunteer, bring an organization, partner with us, support our mission, or simply come experience the farm, we hope you leave knowing one thing:
There is a place for you here.
Welcome to Camino.
