FRIENDS LODGE CELEBRATION – MAY 17, 2025

Come out to camp to see the new dining hall, Friends Lodge, on May 17th.

FRIENDS LODGE DINING HALL UPDATE NOVEMBER 2024 💕

Work is well underway on Friends Lodge as you can see in the recent photos included in this update. Please recall the cost to build Friends Lodge is $1.6MM. As a result of God’s constant care and countless generous donations, NWOCYC currently has $1.1MM saved for the new lodge, leaving $500K to borrow. The monthly payment for a loan of this amount is nearly $5K. While we already have loan pledges covering this minimum payment, to hasten the loan payoff we created the DOUBLE PAYMENTS fundraising campaign with a goal to make payments of $10K per month. Since launching this campaign last spring, we have made progress and currently have $7,535 pledged. Thank you to all who have begun monthly giving or pledged to do so! Please take a moment to review more details below and consider how you could help us reach this goal.

Please initiate your donations now through our website at nwocyc.org/donate. There you can set up automatic monthly donations of any amount you choose. These can also be easily stopped should that need ever arise.

If you would like to know more about this project, see any board member or feel free to contact Jeff Endicott, Board President, at 567-208-7353.

Job Site Photos

Solar Eclipse Event Weekend as a Huge Success!!! 😍

We swung open our gates and hosted a unique opportunity to engage in the spectacular event. The two-day adventure gave participants a true immersion into nature. A constant roaring fire in the 1940’s Tappan Lodge, camp style meals, hiking at Howard Collier State Nature Preserve, star gazing, sleeping in cabins, singing around the fire circle, crafts, a science/Biblical-based astronomy lesson, making new friends, and experiencing totality together away from the city lights was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. 

When we learned that totality was passing right over our camp over a year ago, we were stunned. We feel God provided us with the cosmic entertainment and all we had to do is open the gate and invite people to attend. The event ran smoothly and exceeded our expectations. Our guests came from every corner of Ohio, and we even had a few from as far away as Colorado, Texas, and Florida. We were blessed with 92 people making the trip to our beloved camp for this spectacular event.  

More fun is being planned for this spring on May 18th when we will hold our Spring Rally Day beginning at noon and Camp 5K that starts at 10am.  

National Recognition of our beloved camp! ❤️ 🏕️ ❤️

We are very excited to announce that as of January 2024, NWOCYC is now listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

NWOCYC (remembered by many as Camp Pittenger) is of local and national significance through its vibrant history as a YMCA camp from 1931 to 1978, before we purchased the property. First known as Camp Sandusky (established by the Findlay YMCA in 1931), the property became Camp Pittenger when purchased by the Tiffin YMCA in 1938. What truly sets Camp Pittenger apart is the amazing and important history with disabled campers. From 1940 to 1978 the Ohio Society for Crippled Children (OSCC, which became the Easter Seals) operated an annual camping program at Camp Pittenger for disabled children and teenagers. Each August, for nearly four decades, campers with physical and intellectual disabilities lived in community, participated in adaptive recreation, and built connections with other disabled peers from across the state of Ohio. Several old black and white pictures can be found in the Photos tab at nwocyc.org. Excited to uncover this rich history of Camp Pittenger, we have been reestablishing relationships with locals and recording oral histories from former campers and staff to preserve their stories for future generations.

After a yearlong application process to honor the mid-century YMCA and Easter Seals histories, we have just been awarded this national designation of historical significance.

We prayerfully anticipate this will open historical avenues of financial support for our older structures. Additionally, this in no way limits our ability to modify our property as deemed necessary by the Board of Trustees, such as building the new dining hall.

These are indeed exciting times for our camp. We are so thankful for the rich history as we joyfully anticipate a bright and blessed future.