In the fall of 2025 we hosted 2 zoom listening sessions and invited people to fill out a survey. These were opportunities to give feedback to ideas already generated and to offer other possibilities about how we might develop a $5million project. Folk from a variety of generations and connections to Waycross showed up to the Zooms and filled out the survey to help the Waycross board and the staff explore this opportunity. 

Cabins - Increasingly, the gendered nature of our bathhouse has not met our camper and staff populations’ needs. As we considered how to address this, we also had our biggest camp season in over 10 years in 2025. We realized that this grant allowed us the opportunity to expand our capacity while still maintaining the small, intimate feel of camp at Waycross and to offer more hospitable accommodations with in-cabin bathrooms. We want to preserve the cabin circle look and feel and have been working with our contractors to preserve the aesthetic we know and love at Waycross while modernizing our cabins.

Bathhouse/new Guest House - With bathrooms in cabins, the necessity of the bathhouse changes. We have been expanding our chaplain program and camp leadership team and have felt the constraints of housing availability with our current set up. This new guest house allows us to strengthen our leadership and deepen our bench for summer camp.

New pool - Our current pool has served us well and is getting to the end of its usability. Facing new and ongoing cracks in the foundation and pipes each season requires significant time and money for our staff to maintain. As we thought about what is essential at camp, opportunities to be in the water are certainly at the top of the list. As we thought about our commitment to accessibility, we recognized that replacing the pool is not only prudent at this time, it also allows us to install a new one with easier points of entry. We will also install a motorized chair lift so that mobility will not be a barrier to enjoying pool time at Waycross.

Bridge - Currently no bridge exists across the creek at the base of the White Oak Trail. This limits year round accessibility. It also means that as we continue to use more and more of our property, there is not easy emergency access to that portion of our property. This bridge will be engineered in such a way that our Waycross utility vehicles will be able to cross it and respond to needs quickly.

Climbing Wall/Adventure Course - Our well-loved climbing wall has been getting close to needing to have significant work done to maintain it. The poles were getting to the end of their lives and the hand holds that fit the wall are no longer manufactured. Knowing that we would need to address the costly updates, we decided to explore replacing the wall with something more robust that would allow people of all physical abilities the opportunity to get to the top.

New staff house - With our growing programs and user groups, having only 2 residential staff has become increasingly challenging. Having more support and oversight on property offers relief to the entire staff system. In the last two years we have been able to create a year round Program Director position. This person is required to live onsite, at a minimum during the summer months, and this house allows us to house and support them while also meeting the needs of the rest of our staff, our guests, and our campers.

Roof replacements - Most of the roofs onsite were 30+ years old. Being able to replace the roofs on the Assembly Building, Main House, Sleeping Wing, Dixon Hall, and the Chapel is important to maintaining and preserving these special spaces. This grant opened unusual opportunities to address the kinds of deferred maintenance that places like Waycross regularly carry.

Much of the work we are doing with these grant funds require permits from the county, if not from the state. Once we have the necessary permits and completed design plans, we will work with our calendar to complete construction in a timely manner that is a non-disruptive to our group and schedule as possible. 

The new climbing tower is done and will be used this coming summer! The roofs on the Assembly Building, Dixon Hall, and the Chapel have been replaced. Main House will be completed by the end of April and the Sleeping Wing roof will be replaced this coming fall.

Construction on the new staff house will likely begin mid-July.

You can give online by going to this page on our website. However, if you would like to have a conversation about larger gifts or have questions before you are ready to give, please reach out to Sara Gunter a sara@waycrossccc.org or call the office at 812-597-4241. 

This grant initiative is focused on youth programming. The Conference Center did not qualify under the terms of the grant because it primarily serves adult groups. We continue to explore ways to care for and improve the Conference Center & the Retreat House but for this particular project, we are focused on the places at Waycross that serve our campers and youth throughout the year most.

Great question! We’re glad you’re interested and excited about being updated! We will send newsletters, post on our social media, AND add updates to this page on our website. Keep coming back here to find out how our fundraising is going, when construction has started, and for fun facts and details from stakeholders in our community!

Updates coming soon!