Pyoca is one of 187 organizations selected by a Lilly Endowment Inc. initiative
by Beth Waltemath | Presbyterian News Service
Counselors help youth climb the rock wall at Pyoca Camp and Retreat Center. (Photo courtesy of Pyoca Camp and Retreat Center)
Pyoca Camp and Retreat Center, located in the Presbytery of Ohio Valley, announced this week that it had received a $451,505 grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to launch an innovative day camp program for local youth. The program is funded through the Strengthening Youth Programs in Indiana initiative, which is aimed at improving the academic, physical and social well-being of young people ages 5 through 18.
According to a press release, Pyoca Camp and Retreat Center in Brownstown, Indiana, will “expand the impact and reach to more youth in the region through the use of the grant funds.” The day camp will “serve as a safe, engaging and enriching environment for local youth,” offering opportunities for hiking, rock climbing, canoeing and exploration of the Pyoca grounds and the Jackson-Washington State Forest as well as exercises in team-building, environmental education, crafts and personal development.
Worship contributes to the peacefulness of the conference center situated in Brownstown, Indiana. (Photo courtesy of Pyoca Camp and Retreat Center)
“We are immensely grateful to the Lilly Endowment Inc. for their generous support of our vision to create a day camp program that will serve local youth,” said Mike Davis, executive director at Pyoca Camp and Retreat Center. “We are always seeking ways to serve our local community, and this grant will enable us to do so in a meaningful way, working with community partners to provide a positive and transformative experience tailored to our local youth.” Pyoca Camp and Retreat Center already has a vibrant overnight camp in the summer. “We are very excited,” said the Rev. Molly DeWitt, program director at Pyoca, “to have just been given a sizable grant from the Lilly Endowment Inc. to start a brand new day camp program.”
Pyoca Camp and Retreat Center will launch a new day camp with grant funds. (Photo courtesy of Pyoca Camp and Retreat Center)
Pyoca Camp and Retreat Center, a member of the Presbyterian Church Camp and Conference Association (PCCCA) and the Campfire Collective, is one of 187 organizations receiving grants through the Strengthening Youth Programs in Indiana initiative.
Directors and leaders of camp and conference centers like Pyoca will be gathering Nov. 13–17 at Ferncliff Camp and Conference Center in Little Rock, Arkansas, for the annual conference of the PCCCA and the Campfire Collective. The PCCCA is in partnership with the Presbyterian Mission Agency through the Office of Christian Formation.
You may freely reuse and distribute this article in its entirety for non-commercial purposes in any medium. Please include author attribution, photography credits, and a link to the original article. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDeratives 4.0 International License.