Recent Projects at Echo
Caring ... Honesty ... Respect ... Responsibility
Round tables (replacing the rectangular tables), chairs (replacing the benches), and a new wrap-around deck on the east side of the Dining Hall
were funded by donations to the McGaw YMCA 2002 Capital Campaign that were designated for Camp Echo.
The tables and chairs arrived during Session 2 last summer.
Work preparing for the deck began in the Spring of 2008, and construction of the deck began in October 2008.
The deck was completed in the Fall of 2008.
Voyagers and other teen groups began enjoying their meals on the deck last summer.
The donors that made these terrific improvements to the Dining Hall possible include:
- Tim & Vickie Burke
- Loretta Copeland
- The Frankel Foundation
- Rob & Linda Grierson
- Tom & Anne McMahon
Funding for the original Basketball and Tennis Courts, constructed in the 1950s, came from the Snyder Family.
Peak Naming donations were used to completely replace and enlarge the courts in the Spring of 2008.
In addition, a beautiful viewing area, for watching sports and water skiing, was created along the west edge of the courts.
A generous donation from Tom Engelhard enabled us to add a number of exciting games on the peninsula this past summer.
Pictured below are the Four Square Courts, Corn Hole Games, GaGa Pits, and Carpetball Tables.
Funding for our Team Elements and High Ropes Courses, constructed in the 1990s, came from the Earn & Learn Foundation.
Peak Naming donations were used to construct this new Low Ropes Course, with four pods of three elements each, all low to the ground.
The course was completed in the Spring of 2008 and cabin groups began using it that summer.
Our Teen xTreme and Backpacking in the Rockies groups have been rock-climbing at off-camp sites for a number of years.
This new Bouldering Cave, with 88 linear feet of 10-foot-high traversing walls, will enable us to implement a progressive climbing program at Echo.
The facility was completed in the Spring of 2009, and has been in use by campers for a full summer.
The walls feature color-coded handholds and footholds marking traversing routes for beginner, intermediate, advanced, and expert climbers.
Before adding more cabins (and campers) there is a need for upgrades to our infrastructure.
We will need new showerhouses and bathrooms, new wells, and a hookup to the county sewer system.
In the Spring of 2008 we installed flow meters that enabled us to measure our water usage.
The Michigan DEQ and Newaygo County have given us the go-ahead to make the improvements.
The first phase of the sewer system hookup, the construction of a force main around the north end of the lake, has been funded, and will be completed by June, 2010.
We are currently seeking funding to complete the sewer system hookup in the Fall of 2010, after camp ends this summer.
Concurrently, we are seeking lead gifts for the construction of a replacement for the Kybo North bathroom and shower house.
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Ongoing Projects at Camp Echo
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Donations to our Annual Campaign designated for the Maintenance Fund enable our Property Managers to not only keep camp in good repair,
but also to add new features to existing buildings and program areas.
The Horse Instruction Classroom pictured below was constructed in the Spring of 2008.
