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Special Needs Groups

YMCA Trout Lodge & Camp Lakewood serves more than 35 special needs groups. Many of our camps include the entire family, because an illness or disability doesn’t just affect the one – but the whole family. Our groups include those affected by cancer, HIV/AIDS, Crohn’s Disease, asthma, missing limbs or parts of limbs, visual Impairments, diabetes, epilepsy, developmental disabilities, hemophilia and more. Their illnesses can be debilitating and often life-threatening. There is also our Concerns of Police Survivors, for family, friends, co-workers affected by the loss of a police officer killed in the line of duty. Disabled Veterans come for four days of adaptive sports programs. The list goes on and we welcome people of all abilities.

Youth & School Groups

Our experienced staff works with our future leaders for team-building, peaceful conflict resolution, personal goal-setting and outdoor education programs that improve classroom performance that will set them on a path of success in life. What they learn in the classroom comes alive in Mother Nature’s classroom.

Camp Lakewood Campers

Campers of all ages and socio-economic backgrounds benefit from the positive role models and safe challenges that a week of resident camp has in abundance. Children make life-long friends, discover new activities and challenge themselves beyond their comfort zone to realize their full potential. Camp is a safe environment for children to explore and try new things with plenty of support staff and friends to encourage them along the way. We don’t turn any campers away due to parents’ inability to pay.

Families

There are many families in crisis these days. Whether it’s the loss of a family member, job loss, overwhelming medical bills or personal struggles, families oftentimes need financial assistance for the respite they desperately need to escape their day-to-day challenges, and simply be a family like everyone else. Families need time together to rejuvenate, renew and relax, and leave their problems behind if just for a short while.

Your donation to the YMCA Annual Support Campaign brings hope to children and families throughout your community and makes a lifelong impact on their lives. At the Y, no child, family or adult is turned away. We recognize that for communities to succeed, everyone must be given the opportunity to be healthy, confident, connected and secure. Each year, close to 8,000 children and adults receive much-needed financial assistance thanks to the generosity of others like you.

$250 – Enables two students to participate in an Outdoor Education program at Camp Lakewood

$600-$999 Inner Circle “Duck” Level – Provides a full camp scholarship to Camp Lakewood for a life-changing week of summer camp full of adventures, challenges, learning opportunities and making life-long friends.

$1,000-$2,400 Waterwheel Circle – Provides the opportunity for five “special-needs” families to participate in a retreat for networking, educational workshops and respite.

$2,500-$4,999 Waterwheel Circle – Allows five families to participate in a retreat for mutual support and enjoy a respite from illness no child should have to face.

$5,000-$9,999 Waterwheel Circle – Gives eight families the ability to come together to connect through shared life experiences.

$10,000+ Waterwheel Circle – Allows ten families facing personal struggles or loss to gather as a group for support and camaraderie.

 Benefits to You for Donations of $600 and Above

• Progressive series of 10 hand-carved ducks, bronze turtle, crystal duck and eagle
• Recognition at our Annual Campaign kick-off dinner
• Knowing that you are positively changing lives forever.

There is no other nonprofit quite like the Y. In partnering with the Y, you can feel confident your contribution is making a meaningful and lasting investment to carry on your charitable wishes into the future. For over 165 years the YMCA has provided life-changing experiences for countless children and adults to positively impact our community and to create future leaders. We invite you to invest in this extraordinary cause and consider the legacy you can leave for future generations.

Gifts to our Endowment Fund are invested with a portion of the interest income used to support projects and programs outside the general operations budget, including camper financial assistance and long-term facility improvements. The principal remains intact to grow your investment over the years. Your gift continues your charitable wishes long into the future.

You are probably familiar with outright gifts, such as cash or a check, which you make today and we can use right away. But sometimes an immediate gift isn’t the best option, especially if you feel unsure about giving up assets today that you and your loved ones might need in the future.

A planned gift is the perfect solution to this problem. There are many types of planned gifts, and each offers unique advantages. Some planned gifts are revocable – a gift in your will or living trust, for example – so you can change your mind at any time. They can also be irrevocable – just as outright gifts are – so that you benefit from an immediate income tax deduction.

• Outright Cash Gift
• Will Bequests
• Living Trust Bequests
• Life Insurance Beneficiary
• Retirement Fund Beneficiary
• Charitable Gift Annuities
• Gifts of Real Estate
• POD and TOD Designations
• Charitable Trusts

The key feature of planned gifts like these is that they provide important benefits to you as well as to the Gateway Region YMCA.

YMCA Trout Lodge & Camp Lakewood welcomes a wide variety of families and groups annually, many of whom are children and adults with unique needs. We want to ensure that this memorable experience is available to all who seek it. These specialty camps allow children and adults to foster connections and find support and empathy with others in similar situations.

We offer more than 38 other specialty programs, offering children and adults living with disease or other life challenges the opportunity to experience the transformative experience of camp.

• children with cancer

• children with HIV/AIDS

• children newly diagnosed with diabetes

• family camp for children with limb loss

• adults with cancer

• youth with epilepsy

• children with asthma

• children with Crohn’s Disease

• Concerns of Police Survivors for surviving families of police officers killed in line of duty

• children with hand anomalies

• developmental disabilities & autism

TODAY’S INVESTMENT IN TOMORROW

Phase 1 is designed to enhance both the indoor and outdoor experience of our guests with a focus on our beautiful natural outdoor surroundings that help sooth troubled minds and bodies.

• Welcoming and barrier-free entrance and lobby
• Updates to 60 guest rooms & 19 loft suites
• Floor to ceiling glass doors and walls to bring nature inside
• Redesign balconies to enhance privacy, protect from the elements and draw people outside
• New HVAC system
• Fire protection system updates
• Convert six fully accessible guest rooms

TOMORROW’S INVESTMENT FOR ALL FOR GENERATIONS

We have identified the following priorities that will reach beyond our first phase of transformation and keep YMCA Trout Lodge a place for all for generations. These additional changes will ensure a more respectful and dignified environment for our disabled veterans and other guests with limited mobility. We will also provide the environment to foster stronger connections with those who visit, in a natural and serene setting. Throughout our renovations we will be mindful that we are good stewards of our planet and will engage eco-friendly initiatives where we can.

• Renovate loft suites, allowing us to increase the number of handicapped accessible suites
• Convert additional fully accessible guest rooms
• Build handicapped parking lot 
• Upgrade Front Desk for greater accessibility
• New furnishings and décor for lobby and rooms
• Reconfigure and upgrade kitchen
• Public restroom upgrades
• Lakeside landscaping

There are many attractive naming opportunities available as an individual or as an extended family gift. Pledge payments may be paid over five years.

Doesn’t everyone have a “wish list”? There is always something, or someone, on our “wish list”. In-Kind gifts of goods or services are also appreciated to help us fund those projects or equipment that didn’t make it into the budget this year. Perhaps you can help us meet one of these needs. Perhaps you have something to donate not on our wish list, but still something we can use.

Here is a sampling of some items we currently have on our Wish List to add to our inventory:

• Mini refrigerators for guests with medication that must be kept chilled
• Handicap shower benches
• Oversized wheelchairs
• Pickup trucks for on-site maintenance use
• Golf carts for staff to safely traverse the property around guests and campers
• Hand tools – rakes, shovels, loppers, etc.
• Power tools
• Horse grooming tools for equestrian camp
• Sports balls – volleyball, soccer, colored golf balls
• Sports Equipment – tennis rackets & balls; shuffleboard ; mini golf clubs
• Beach Cruiser style Bikes
• Digital cameras for animation camp
• Portable canopy for outdoor events