About
Built for Atlantic Canada’s community of military and first responder families.
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Meeting a Need
For six generations, the Cassidy Family from Cassidy Lake, NB have enjoyed their one hundred and fifty acre forested property at the Lake (the “Property”) as a place to live, work and pursue outdoor family recreational opportunities such as hiking, boating, picnicking, fishing and swimming.
They strongly believe Atlantic Canada’s community of military and first responder families (both serving and retired) deserve the opportunity to enjoy those same experiences on the Property, in a family setting and in a facility dedicated to their unique needs.
Just as Canada’s military and first responder personnel have access to similar facilities in other parts of the country, these special Canadians and their families living in the Atlantic Provinces will benefit from a local, first class wellness centre combined with outdoor recreational facilities and programs designed for their exclusive use. Developing the Property as Camp Cassidy will meet this need.
The Benefits to Our Military and First Responder Community
Camp Cassidy is aware military and first responder personnel and their families face unique challenges as a result of, among other things, deployments for training, combat roles, security service, first response responsibilities and peacekeeping missions. Such challenges include operational stress injuries, anxiety, hyper-vigilance, depression and conflict management, along with issues caused by prolonged or recurring separation and relocation.
The development and operation, on a non-profit basis, of a wellness centre with recreational facilities and programs at the Property is intended to provide a safe, unique experience for military and first responder families to experience the therapeutic and revitalizing benefit of wellness programs and outdoor adventure and education at little or, preferably, no cost to them.
Camp Cassidy understands military and first response personnel can obtain significant benefit from outdoor activities that allow them to connect, and, in some cases, re-connect with their family members. The Cassidy Family places a high value on the positive, healing value of strong family bonds, and the emphasis at Camp Cassidy, from design to operation, will be on family-oriented wellness and recreation. For example, individual family style cabins with sleeping quarters will be established, rather than large traditional “bunkhouses” found at kids’ camps. Individual kitchen and dining facilities built into each cabin will maximize family oriented meals. Infrastructure for a “Gathering Place” building (a large congregating area) will be created with separate meeting/seminar rooms for group events, therapy and wellness counseling.
A Rare Opportunity
There is currently no facility in the Atlantic Provinces like that envisioned for Camp Cassidy. The goal for Camp Cassidy is to create a non-profit, privately owned and operated first class camp setting for both wellness and recreation, easily accessible to military and first responder families living in Atlantic Canada
Military and first responder families have access to public facilities such as provincial and national parks, but it is on the same terms as provided to the general population i.e. there is generally no access to these facilities reserved solely for them. Further, provincial and national parks often charge various fees, which for some families can be cost-prohibitive, even with discounts, when considering the overall family budget.
Overnight park use is also frequently affected by waiting lists for camp sites that can be quite long, given that they cater to both the local general population and, of course, tourists.
Help Us Grow
By providing top notch wellness programs and outdoor recreation opportunities and facilities available solely for military and first responder families at little or, preferably, no cost to them, Camp Cassidy will provide an important and rare opportunity to meet the unique needs of these special Canadians.
A Favourable Location
The Property is a 1.5 hour drive from CFB Gagetown, one of Canada’s largest military bases, and the town of Oromocto, NB, a vibrant community of 10,000 primarily made up of military families and veteran personnel. The Property is easily accessible by major highway from all three of New Brunswick’s largest cities, and from other bases and military communities in the Atlantic Provinces. Amenities (grocery stores, etc.) are located in the nearby town of Sussex and the village of Norton.
Interested parties are invited to contact Camp Cassidy to learn more about participating in the Action Plan to develop Camp Cassidy.