The YMCA Outdoor Education Centers recent fundraising campaign to reimagine the camp on the lake just wrapped up. They blew away their original goal of 1.5 million dollars and now plan to invest 5.5 million into their campus. They are set to expand their programs and renovate the property, paving the way for year-round operations.
Since 1970, the YMCA Outdoor Education Center has hosted their annual ten-week summer day camp. Affiliated with the YMCA of Montclair, the center services ten different towns across Northern New Jersey. Children from all different communities come to the center for their various outdoor activities, such as: environmental education and STEM, swim lessons, archery, boating, and hiking.
“In Montclair we did not have 32 acres of nature and the outdoors,” said Buddy Evans, the President and CEO of YMCA Montclair. “So this was an opportunity for us to bring children in any of the ten towns that we’re serving to a setting like this, to get them away from the TVs, get them away from the computers, get them away from the screens, and just bring them back to nature,” said Evans.
The center plans to use a portion of the money raised to expand and renovate their campus this upcoming fall in order to offer more programs and activities that will operate year-round. Some of the new additions will include: a 4,400 square foot lodge that features a weight room, kitchen, fireplace, and wraparound porch, an environmental education center, a junior pavilion, and a performing arts center where children can get involved in music and drama.
The center will also be renovating the current basketball court and adding a state-of-the-art multi purpose court. “We feel like these are opportunities for us to continue to program and to bring families together, and for kids, teenagers, and seniors, to come and utilize this campus 52 weeks a year instead of just 10 weeks,” said Evans.
In addition to the new features, the YMCA, once done renovating, will be coordinating with West Milford Schools to host a field trip for all sixth graders next fall and afterschool programs. They will also be running mental health and CPR first training classes for educators and paraprofessionals.
The money the YMCA has raised will not only go to their new renovation plans, but they will also use the money to fund scholarship positions for children of families who cannot afford the cost. Prior to this fundraising event, in just this year alone, the YMCA Outdoor Education Center raised over $100,000 worth of scholarships, and they actively fundraise for this need. “We don’t turn people away for their inability to pay,” Evans said. “We feel everybody should experience this.”
For the next few months the center will be in “full construction mode,” according to Evans. Therefore, they will not be doing many events. However, although the date is not confirmed yet, the center will host a ribbon cutting ceremony for their new performing arts center once completed. The staff of the YMCA would love for the West Milford community to be in attendance.