Where did we come from?

The camps were founded in 1944 on the vision of being able to provide an enjoyable holiday in a Christian environment at a reasonable cost - a vision we still maintain today. Started by a group of Brethren churches in the Bournemouth area we are now an independent Christian charity with a broad appeal to young people from all over the country.

What churches are involved?

We have campers and leaders from around 50 churches. We are nondenominational. New church contacts and leaders are always welcome.

How are we organised?

Each camp has its own team made up of volunteer helpers, headed up by a senior leadership team. The senior leaders help create the holiday programme guided by the overall aims of the organisation. The senior leaders are appointed by the Trustees. The camp facilities are maintained by a small administration team, all of whom are volunteers. The Admin team also provides the publicity and booking support including this web site. As much as possible is done in-house to keep costs to a minimum.

How are we financed?

Our aim is to keep our holidays affordable to all, and we rely on donations from leaders, churches and supporters to support our programme of planned replacement of canvas and the purchase of equipment. We also welcome gifts to support a separate bursary fund to help those who cannot afford the full fees.

Looking forward

God has touched many thousands of young lives through H&DCYC since 1944, and has been blessing the camps especially over the past few years. There has been a vision to purchase our own site for a long time and over the past few years we have viewed several potential sites and have received some generous donations for this purpose. We are still waiting for God to open the way to the right site and provide the remaining funds needed for this exciting future direction. 

Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO)

Hants and Dorset Christian Youth Camps is a UK registered charity (No. 1166865).