The S.V.P. Leeds & District Camp, is a special works unit, within the St. Vincent de Paul Society, a fully registered charitable trust, and for 90 years, has been providing children from inner city areas of West Yorkshire with a weeks holiday they would not otherwise have had. 

The St Vincent de Paul Society has been organising camps since 1921 with the first Leeds camp taking place in Boston Spa in 1932. The Leeds camp originated as a "Boys' Camp" but in 1993 evolved into a "Children's Camp" with both boys and girls attending. Whilst the girls were in the minority in the early years, in more recent times they have often outnumbered the boys!

Whilst our current crop of volunteers don't remember that far back, most do have fond memories of being hosted by the Tempest Family in the picturesque grounds of their Broughton Hall Estate since 1985. 2017 was an exciting year as we outgrew our home of over 30 years and moved to a new, much bigger site. Thankfully, our new home retains the beauty and practicality of its predecessor.

The Camp which has to raise around £20,000 each year to run, takes place in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales. Thanks to this ideal and tranquil location, the children are able to relax and leave behind any problems they may have at home and take part in various activities such as walking, swimming and bowling, along with all the usual on site activities such as football, rounders and cricket.

The Camp is run by a dedicated 40 strong team of volunteers, all of whom offer time from their annual holidays each summer to help run and organise the camp. The volunteers are from varied backgrounds with varying ages and are able to bring differing skills and attributes to help make the children's stay as comfortable and enjoyable as possible.

The care and well being of the children is of paramount importance and as such all volunteers are continually assessed and have to undergo regular police checks (DBS). Along with this, all volunteers who handle food on site are expected to hold a Food Hygiene Certificate, which again is regularly updated. The camp is run in a very organised and professional manner, with regular health and safety checks and we have a continual Risk Assessment policy for all activities both on and off site.

One of the biggest benefits the Camp provides, along with the fun and escapism a camping holiday can offer (both for the volunteers and the children), is its sense of well-being and belonging. This is evident in the fact that many of the volunteers, who put so much time and energy into running and organising the camp, once attended the camp themselves as children. This is probably one of the main reasons why the SVP Leeds & District  Camp has such a valuable and long tradition, and really is the "SVP Caring in the community".