Camp Alexander Mack receives large grant from Lilly Endowment

Beginning in January of 2024, Camp Mack will provide an after-school program and vacation day camp to support students who struggle with the learning process, particularly those affected by the interruption of the pandemic and isolation through electronic media. With opportunities for outdoor experiences, physical and mental challenges, and community-building, the program will build confidence, increase student focus, and teach coping skills for success.

The Lilly Endowment Strengthening Youth Programs Initiative’s goal is to help youth-serving organizations working throughout Indiana improve their abilities to promote the academic, physical, and social well-being of young people, ages 5 through 18.

Camp Mack, led by program staff Jessica Kreider and Hunter Jackson, will provide this in two ways. First, 120 students from Warsaw Community Schools and Wawasee Community School Corporation will participate in an after-school program that runs 24 weeks through the school year. Activities will include time on our challenge courses, games that promote leadership and collaboration, exploration of the natural world, creative experiences, community service and conversations, and free play. The program also offers day camps during fall, winter, and spring breaks for local families. This will ensure that meaningful and fun activities will be available for children who may not have other opportunities.

We believe this grant will be transformational for the local community and for Camp Mack. Not only will students have new opportunities that will improve their success in school, but working parents will have meaningful options for their children during school vacations. Camp Mack will now be able to fully utilize its established resources in outdoor education as an extension of its mission, increasing outreach significantly.

There will be opportunities for volunteer and paid employment with this new initiative, so please feel free to give us a call if you are interested in being a part of this program.

We are so grateful to Lilly Endowment for this opportunity, and we continue to pursue the mission of providing a sanctuary where all people are welcomed to connect with God, experience creation, and build Christian community. We ask for your prayers as we begin a new chapter in the life of Camp Mack.

— Contact information for Camp Mack: 1113 E. Camp Mack Rd., P.O. Box 158, Milford IN 46542; 574-658-4831; info@campmack.org; www.campmack.org. Gene Hollenberg is executive director.

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