The Girl Scouts of NYPENN Pathways (GSNYPENN) Council and Friends of Comstock (FoC) volunteer organization hosted the Camp Comstock Community Open House at the council’s outdoor property located on Cayuga Lake in Ithaca, N.Y., on the evening of Thursday, June 30. Seventy community members and Girl Scout alums and supporters joined representatives for a special event and tour.
Guests were welcomed to the camp by GSNYPENN CEO Julie Dale and FoC Committee Chair Marty Davis and offered rides in the council’s Girl Scout-branded to the event held along the camp’s Cayuga Lake shorefront. Attendees enjoyed light refreshments while listening to a brief program laying out the close to 100-year history of Comstock in the local community and proposed plans including a current capital campaign to erect a new 5,000 square-foot multiuse building on the property.
A welcome and brief remarks were presented by GSNYPENN CEO Julie Dale; GSNYPENN Director of Development JoAnne Morak; FoC Chairs Mary Grainger, Marty Davis, and Katie Williams; GSNYPENN History & Archives Committee Chair Rita Chirumbolo Ernstrom; and Tompkins Chamber President & CEO Jennifer Tavares.
Guests were then invited to tour camp, participate in archery and Gaga Ball, sit by the campfire, roast s’mores, and have a look at a scale model for a building that will provide much-needed winterized space for Girl Scout members using the property and revenue opportunities for the long-term sustainability of the camp for years to come. It will also allow Comstock to double its present capacity for overnight summer camp.
Several steadfast and dedicated Girl Scout alums are challenging one another and other supporters to make donations to the capital campaign by pledging together an initial $50,000 challenge donation. That means any supporter gifts will double, going twice the distance in jumpstarting the fundraising goal. Additional gifts and pledges are requested to fund the building. Multi-year pledges are also available in addition to several naming opportunities. If funding for the building cannot be raised, all donations will remain designated for Comstock use.
“For many of our Girl Scout members and alums in the Greater Ithaca community, Comstock was their first camp experience. And for many of them, Comstock remains their favorite GSNYPENN outdoor property. We hope that through community support of this campaign for a new multiuse building, we can continue Comstock’s legacy and support our mission of helping girls lead for decades more to come,” says GSNYPENN CEO Julie Dale.
GSNYPENN and the FoC are asking for the community’s pledge to help invest in Comstock’s legacy and sustainability. Donations can be made online or by contacting GSNYPENN Director of Development JoAnne Morak with any questions about the capital campaign at [email protected] or 315.288.0953.
For those interested in getting involved with the FoC, email [email protected]. GSNYPENN and FoC are thankful for the following donations from members of the community for the open house: Sheldrake Point Winery (wine), Cayuga Landscape (flowers) and Cayuga Radio Group (advertising).
GSNYPENN serves girls in K-12 across 26 counties: Allegany, Broome, Cayuga, Chemung, Chenango, Cortland, Delaware, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga, Ontario, Oswego, Otsego, St. Lawrence, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Tioga, Tompkins, Wayne and Yates in New York and Bradford and Tioga in Pennsylvania.
