A camp in Worcester Township, which is run by Variety – the Children’s Charity of the Delaware Valley nonprofit, prepares youth with intellectual disabilities for the workforce, writes Beccah Hendrickson for 6abc.

On a serene 77-acre site, young people learn many of the skills they need to be able to secure a job.

“The idea is the kids are getting hands-on, work experience skills that they wouldn’t get otherwise,” said Dominique Bernardo, the CEO of Variety.

The nonprofit has been active for more than seven decades. During that time, it has evolved from a camp into providing numerous social, educational, and vocational programs.

The work at the camp includes farm-to-table food preparation, from the garden to the kitchen.

“The skills that they’ll learn while they’re here performing these activities in the kitchen are transferable to community employment,” said Nick Larcinese, the director of programming at Variety.

Even during the pandemic, when employment opportunities were few and far between, Variety still successfully placed 25 students in the workforce.

Thanks to the skills they learned at the camp, they were able to find jobs as essential workers.

Read more about the nonprofit at 6abc.

Camp is always a good time, especially with our Variety alums!