The Staff House at Camp Shalom has served campers and staff for many decades. But the building’s age and the needs of camp operations today, have left camp at a crossroad where it is no longer viable to update or repair it to meet today’s needs.
The Camp Shalom Board of Directors has made the decision to have a capital campaign to provide the funding for a new Secure Shelter and Health Care Facility.
The new building’s design will provide space on the main floor to house campers who need to be isolated from other campers for health reasons, and office space for the health care staff. It will also provide housing for the summer staff leadership team. The current Staff House would require extensive repairs and still would not serve camps needs sufficiently.
The lower level of the building will have concrete walls and will provide an emergency shelter for weather and other situations where campers and staff might become at-risk. Everyone believes it will never happen bad things will never happen in their neighborhood, but we learned otherwise and are unwilling to take chances with other people children.
During the off-season, the facility will provide small-group retreat housing. With the capability to sleep 16 on the main floor and additional in the lower level, the building will be better suited to serving groups of all ages and physical abilities. With heat and air conditioning it will be suitable for year-round events. The main room will have a gathering space and kitchenette.
The campaign will also provide funding to replace the mowing equipment which is more than 20 years old and to finish paying for the replacement of the Village cabins.
