Agency - YWCA Camp Cavell

YWCA Camp Cavell is a unique environment set aside from our hectic world. It is not just a place, but rather, "camp" is a philosophy, a way of operating, a special place where people are respected and encouraged to care for one another. Within the boundaries of camp, lifetime friendships are formed spanning all cultural, ethnic, and social lines. At camp we hope campers will reach a little higher, go home a bit more confident, learn skills they can use throughout life, and take home memories that will last a lifetime! Following the YWCA's mission to Eliminate Racism and Empower Women, YWCA CAMP CAVELL fosters the ideal that individuals from diverse backgrounds can celebrate similarities while learning to appreciate diversity.

Description:
YWCA Camp Cavell is a three season camp which has served children in the Metropolitan Detroit community and the thumb area for 90 years! We are located on 55 acres in Lexington, Michigan on beautiful Lake Huron. We work with a unique mix of children and adults from very different economic and social backgrounds. A large number of the children we serve are from economically depressed areas, have a disability, or are "at risk" in some way. We feel these groups of children need to be exposed to new challenges and growth opportunities in the out of doors. Our YWCA programs include Fun Family Weekends, Women's Getaway Weekends, Senior Getaways, Children's Great Summer Camp, and a Summer Day Camp. Activities include: waterfront, crafts, archery, horseback riding, kayaking, backpacking trips, woodshop, technical tree climbing and lots more! We also serve over 90 community groups and organizations who utilize our programming and our site each year. These organizations have included the Detroit Police Explorer Program, Latino Family Services, American Heart Stroke Survivors, Muscular Dystrophy Association, Roseville Recreation - ARC (Mentally Disabled Children), Rainbows (grieving support group for children), Interim House (our family shelter) and many more. Altogether we serve over 4000 people each year for an average of 48 contact hours each. That is over 192,000 people contact hours a year. We feel strongly that camp is a special place like no other. It is a safe place where people can learn about one another and their environment as they try new experiences and grow together.

History:
The YWCA Is Celebrating 90 Years In Camping!
Back in 1914, far removed from the destructive din of the battlefields of Europe, a whole new world of adventure and excitement opened up for thirty Detroit girls at a camp sponsored for two weeks by the Girls Work Department at Elizabeth Lake. Borrowed tents comprised its meager equipment.
From this Simple Begining...
the Detroit YWCA girls camp progressed through seasons and various tempory sites. In 1919 at the Carrigan site on Lake Huron (1919-21) the enterprise was christened "Camp Cavell" in honor of Nurse Edith Cavell whose heroic patriotism so fires the imagination of the girls of the post-war period. In 1927 Camp Cavell was moved to its current site here in Lexington.
Girls also enjoyed Camp Norcom & Camp Talahi...
In 1928 the Detroit YWCA established wonderful programs at Camp Norcom in Dexter for girls of color and Camp Talahi near Brighton for business and industrial girls. In later years we all came together at Camp Cavell.

Contact person: Jill Laidlaw, Camp Director, (phone), (email)

Address:

3335 Lakeshore Road Lexington, MI 48450 (See a map)