Girl Scouts to close 5 camps, 2 remain in Northeast Ohio to serve 40,000 girls

MACEDONIA, Ohio - The Girl Scouts of North East Ohio have announced they will be closing five of their camps.

Two camps remain in Erie County and Summit County to serve 40,000 girls throughout an 18- county region.

The Board of Directors announced Saturday, Camp Ledgewood in Peninsula and Camp Timberlane in Wakeman will be revamped as premier camps and leadership development centers.

"This is a thrilling time for our Council," said Dan A. Bragg, Chair of the Board of Directors. "As we begin celebrating a century of Girl Scouting, we are also looking at empowering the girls of today and tomorrow. Our members, both girls and adults, told us what they want in their camping and leadership experiences, and that is what inspired this initiative."

Camps Ledgewood and Timberlane were chosen for the transformation because of their locations, amenities, opportunity for year-round use as well as current and future capacities. Currently, they are the most used camps by the Girl Scouts of North East Ohio.

The Girl Scouts of North East Ohio will fund these improvements by selling Camp Crowell/Hilaka, Great Trail Camp, Camp Lejnar, Camp Pleasant Valley and Camp Sugarbush.

The Board of Directors made a unanimous decision to transform the camps at a meeting on March 2, 2011.

"Making this investment means we are making a commitment to our girls who will be able to grow, thrive and celebrate in a safe, positive environment," said Bragg. "We believe these centers will attract many more girl and adult members and subsequently the best program trainers."

These changes were announced to the membership first at the Spring General Assembly on Saturday.

Programs will continue at all camp properties through the summer and fall. Closing camps will include relocation of memorials, archiving artifacts and closing ceremonies for Girl Scouts and friends to plan and participate.