Hine Memorial Fund Donation Aids Camp Challenge Improvements

Alta Care Group is moving forward with the next phase of renovations to its Camp Challenge facility on Youngstown’s West Side, thanks to a donation of over $43,000 from the Hine Memorial Fund.

The donation from the fund, which is administered by the Youngstown Foundation, will be supplemented by a $10,000 contribution from the Home Savings Foundation. Alta will now be able to complete Phase 2 of the Camp Challenge Social Hall renovations. The funds will be used to design and build an ADA-compliant handicapped restroom and add a wheelchair-accessible ramp/entryway into the Social Hall.

Camp Challenge, which was for decades known as the Fresh Air Camp, was given to Alta Care Group (then known as D&E Counseling) in the early 1980s by the facility’s last remaining trustees. Since that time, Alta has invested well over $500,000 to restore and refurbish the grounds and buildings, turning Camp Challenge into a valuable community resource that hosts Alta Behavioral Healthcare’s therapeutic summer program for children with significant emotional and behavioral challenges.

More recently, a specialized Alta Head Start classroom was developed at the Camp Challenge site for preschool-aged children whose behavioral challenges are too great for a regular classroom.

Phase 1 of the Camp Challenge renovations included many improvements to the Camp’s Social Hall that will make it suitable for renting out to community groups in addition to its role in the camp’s activities for area children. Phase 2 will make the hall more suitable for both of these purposes.

“These generous contributions by the Hine Memorial Fund and the Home Savings Foundation will enable us to improve conditions for the kids who use Camp Challenge throughout the year — and also to use the Social Hall as a potential revenue source to support our many programs for Mahoning County children,” said Alta Care Group CEO Joseph Shorokey. “We’re very grateful for their support.”

 

Photo: Crissi Jenkins, Program Coordinator with the Youngstown Foundation, presents a check from the Hine Memorial Fund to Alta Care Group CEO Joseph Shorokey.