About
Rotary Camp Onseyawa offers a wide range of daily activities, including swimming, archery, handicrafts, ceramics, drama, fishing, and boating. Many evenings at camp end around a campfire under the stars, and evenings are also spent taking part in a play, being a contestant in a game show, dancing to the music of a live band, or sitting on a bunk talking with a new friend. Campers live in cabins, sleep in sleeping bags, and gather for meals each day in a centrally located dining hall.
• Ages: 8–16 years old
• Schedule: Camp Onseyawa currently takes place during the last two full weeks in August each year.
• Price: Clubs from Ontario, Seneca, Yates and Wayne counties conduct annual fundraising events so that these children can attend camp with no cost to their family.
The mission of Rotary Camp Onseyawa is to provide a camping experience for 8–16 year old children with disabilities from a four-county area and to foster independence and acceptance of others through social, recreational and educational aspects of life. Camp Onseyawa is open to children age 8–16 with a physical, cognitive or emotional disability which would exclude their successful participation at other camps, and rules for acceptance are the same for everyone without regard to race, color or national origin. The camp’s program spans a wide variety of daily activities designed to spark the interest of every camper.
In the spring of 1955, a girl named Gail Rietman insisted that she be allowed to go to camp with her twin sister, and Camp Onseyawa was formed to provide a true outdoor living experience to children with disabilities. Camp Onseyawa gets its name from the first two letters of the name of each county (Ontario, Seneca, Yates, Wayne), and legend has it that Onseyawa is also an ancient Indian word that translates to “Land of Happiness.”
Camp Onseyawa is supported by funds raised by 18 Rotary Clubs covering a four-county area in New York State, including Bloomfield, Canandaigua, Clifton Springs, Dundee, Gananda, Geneva, Honeoye, Naples, Newark, Ontario–Walworth, Palmyra–Macedon, Penn Yan, Red Creek, Red Jacket (Manchester–Shortsville), Seneca Falls, Victor–Farmington, Waterloo, and Wolcott. The 2025 leadership team includes Camp Director Robin Mark, Assistant Director Joanna Meyer, and Treasurer/Financial officer Victor Arsenault.
Last updated May 27, 2026.
• Ages: 8–16 years old
• Schedule: Camp Onseyawa currently takes place during the last two full weeks in August each year.
• Price: Clubs from Ontario, Seneca, Yates and Wayne counties conduct annual fundraising events so that these children can attend camp with no cost to their family.
The mission of Rotary Camp Onseyawa is to provide a camping experience for 8–16 year old children with disabilities from a four-county area and to foster independence and acceptance of others through social, recreational and educational aspects of life. Camp Onseyawa is open to children age 8–16 with a physical, cognitive or emotional disability which would exclude their successful participation at other camps, and rules for acceptance are the same for everyone without regard to race, color or national origin. The camp’s program spans a wide variety of daily activities designed to spark the interest of every camper.
In the spring of 1955, a girl named Gail Rietman insisted that she be allowed to go to camp with her twin sister, and Camp Onseyawa was formed to provide a true outdoor living experience to children with disabilities. Camp Onseyawa gets its name from the first two letters of the name of each county (Ontario, Seneca, Yates, Wayne), and legend has it that Onseyawa is also an ancient Indian word that translates to “Land of Happiness.”
Camp Onseyawa is supported by funds raised by 18 Rotary Clubs covering a four-county area in New York State, including Bloomfield, Canandaigua, Clifton Springs, Dundee, Gananda, Geneva, Honeoye, Naples, Newark, Ontario–Walworth, Palmyra–Macedon, Penn Yan, Red Creek, Red Jacket (Manchester–Shortsville), Seneca Falls, Victor–Farmington, Waterloo, and Wolcott. The 2025 leadership team includes Camp Director Robin Mark, Assistant Director Joanna Meyer, and Treasurer/Financial officer Victor Arsenault.
Last updated May 27, 2026.
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