Help Rebuild 4-H Camp Owahta

For nearly 75 years, 4-H Camp Owahta has been a place where kids discover what they are capable of.

Tucked into 128 acres in McGraw, New York, Camp Owahta is more than cabins, trails, a pond, and a campfire circle.

It is the nervous camper arriving on Sunday who doesn't want their parent to leave, and the confident kid on Friday who doesn't want to go home.

It is learning to swim.

Catching your first fish.

Singing around a campfire.

Trying something that scares you.

Making a best friend.

Sleeping under the stars.

Learning how to lead.

And discovering, sometimes for the very first time:

“I can do this.”

For generations of children, Camp Owahta has been the place where those moments happen.

Then, in 2025, everything changed.

A devastating fire destroyed our Arts & Crafts building and damaged critical electrical infrastructure serving other areas of camp.

Thankfully, no one was hurt.

But the damage didn't end when the fire was extinguished.

The loss affected electricity, lighting, hot water, bathroom facilities, programming space, and our ability to fully use parts of camp. Some of our oldest buildings and infrastructure were already in need of significant repairs, and the fire made those needs even more urgent.

Suddenly, we weren't simply planning for Camp Owahta's future.

We were fighting to protect it.

Insurance helped with a portion of the immediate loss, but it could not begin to cover everything that Camp Owahta needs to repair, rebuild, and prepare for another generation of campers.

And yet, in the summer of 2026, something pretty incredible happened.

More than 300 children still came to Camp Owahta.

They swam.

They explored.

They laughed until bedtime.

They learned new skills.

They made friends.

They built confidence.

And they reminded us exactly why this place is worth fighting for.

Now We Need Your Help.

Camp Owahta has served children and families since 1952, and we want it to serve them for another 75 years.

But we cannot rebuild this camp alone.

There is significant work ahead, including repairs and improvements to our cabins, bathhouses, electrical systems, program spaces, accessibility, waterfront and pond areas, safety infrastructure, and other aging camp facilities.

Some projects are about restoring what was lost.

Others are about making sure Camp Owahta is safer, stronger, more accessible, and better prepared for the future.

Every gift moves us closer.

$25 can help purchase camp program and building supplies.

$50 can help replace equipment and materials kids use every day.

$100 can help with repairs to cabins and program spaces.

$250 can help improve electrical, plumbing, bathroom, and safety infrastructure.

$500 can make a meaningful difference toward major facility repairs.

$1,000 or more can help us take on the large rebuilding projects that will determine the future of Camp Owahta.

And if you are able to make a transformational gift, we need you now more than ever.

You're Not Just Repairing Buildings.

When you give to Camp Owahta, you aren't giving money to a cabin.

You're giving a child their first night away from home.

You're helping a camper learn to paddle a canoe.

You're making space for friendships that may last a lifetime.

You're helping a teenager become a leader.

You're giving a child a place to put down their phone, step outside, get muddy, laugh loudly, take a healthy risk, and discover a little more about who they are.

You're making sure that a family who could never afford an expensive summer camp still has a place where their child belongs.

You are rebuilding childhood experiences.

Imagine Camp Owahta 10, 25, or 50 Years from Now.

Imagine the buildings repaired.

The cabins filled.

The waterfront busy.

The trails full of kids exploring.

A new generation sitting around the campfire singing the same songs that campers sang decades before them.

And imagine being able to say:

“I helped make sure this place survived.”

That is what your gift can do.

We have ambitious plans because our kids deserve a camp with an ambitious future.

Please make a gift today.

Give what you can.

Give in honor of someone who loved camp.

Give in memory of a camper, counselor, 4-H leader, parent, or friend.

Share this campaign with someone who believes kids need places like Camp Owahta.

And if Camp Owahta has ever meant something to you or your family, this is the moment to help write its next chapter.

Help us rebuild.

Help us restore.

Help us protect Camp Owahta for the next generation.

Because long after the buildings are repaired, the confidence, friendships, memories, and sense of belonging created here will remain.

Let's make sure Camp Owahta is here for the kids who haven't even discovered it yet.

CCE's Big Night Out 2026

Fundraising for 4-H Camp Owahta