Provide camping experiences to thousands more kids

YMCA Camp Colman and YMCA Camp Orkila — located on beautiful waterfront sites provided to the Y more than 100 years ago by the Colman family — become thriving communities for more than 5,500 children and teens every summer. During the school year, another 9,000 children from 120 local schools head to our overnight camps for environmental education programs, learning about nature and the amazing ecological systems of the Pacific Northwest. And throughout the year, 600 young people explore their own strength as well as the outdoors with backpacking, climbing, and kayaking expeditions in the Boys/Girls Outdoor Leadership programs.

Our camps provide opportunities for kids and families to build character, strengthen skills for life, and become champions for the outdoors – through fun experiences, with nurturing role models, and in a setting of unparalleled beauty.

You can help us do even more

Today, these camps are poised to become even more influential in the lives of many more children and teens. A brand new camp will enable us to reach exponentially more youth, and more diverse groups, especially those who have historically not participated in camping programs. Your support will help us improve our two overnight camps and build a brand new one, to serve 15,000 more youth each year, and provide even better camp experiences to 22,000 current campers.

Project Highlights:

YMCA Camp Colman

• Four new cabins will give 2,000 more summer campers and students the character-building experiences and educational benefits of camp

• Marine education and arts building will provide exciting new learning possibilities with a science lab, culinary arts center, and visual arts center

• Centralized parking will return the camp core to a more natural space that campers do not share with vehicles—improving safety and preserving the wilderness atmosphere of camp

The Nichols Cabin Honoring the Nichols Family. It is the people that make the camp experience, and for many the Nichols family was synonymous with Camp Colman. George has been a key mentor, role model and camp director for generations of campers.

We are thrilled to be building a Nichols Cabin to serve today’s campers and tomorrow’s leaders. This cabin will honor the Nichols family and facilitate incredible experiences for 500 campers each year.

Thank you for considering a gift today and honoring the legacy of the Nichols family.

Nichols, Cruzen and Bosco are three of the four new cabins at Camp Colman and will allow 2,000 more youth and families to experience the fun and growth that happens only at camp.

YMCA Camp Orkila

• Horsemaster village with four cabins and a bathhouse will serve 2,000 more campers and students in upper camp

•Farm education center near the pond and organic garden will give campers and students new opportunities for freshwater studies, meal preparation, and cooking

• Four new cabins will give 2,000 more summer campers and students the character-building experiences and educational benefits of camp

• Two bath houses will be rebuilt to remove communal showers to better serve diverse groups of children, teens, and families

• Staff housing will better attract and retain outstanding staff, and improve the camp experience for all

New Overnight Camp

• Purchase property as a first step in this exciting long-term goal of developing a new camp for the youth and families of our community

Camp For All

• More kids, teens, and families from every community will be welcomed at our camps. With increased capacity, we’ll be able to support more under-served communities, regardless of their ability to pay the full-cost of camp

• Additional financial assistance will ensure that every young person who wants a camp experience will be able to have one

Every kid deserves an amazing camp experience. Together, we can make that possible.