Pennsylvania

Girl Scouts in the Heart of Pennsylvania, GSHPA
  • Camp Louise, Shickshinny
Closure announced July 2016

  • Camp Lycogis, Hillsgrove
  • Camp El Wa Ho, Fayetteville
(Sold in 2012)
  • Camp Gi Sco Ha, Hanover
(Sold in 2012)
  • Camp Laurel, Roaring Brook Twp
  • Camp Pocono, Tannersville
Announcement to close indefinitely in April 2010
Fighting to keep the campfires burning at Camp Louise Group tries to stop closure of Girl Scout Camp Louise
​standardspeaker.com/news/fighting-to-keep-the-campfires-burning-at-camp-louise-group-tries-to-stop-closure-of-girl-scout-camp-louise-1.2070208
Zajac, 29, a former Girl Scout and counselor at Camp Louise, attended a meeting Monday night at Bloomsburg University that she thought was going to be a discussion about what would become of the camp.

She said she was heartbroken when Ellen Kyzer, president and CEO of the Harrisburg-based Girl Scouts in the Heart of Pennsylvania council, outlined a PowerPoint presentation at the meeting showing damage at the camp and announced the facility would close and the decision is final.

“We all felt misled,” Zajac said. “We thought it was going to be a discussion and they already made the decision to close it.”

She is one of more than 600 members of a Facebook page who are trying to save the camp from closing.
Girl Scout Camp Closes After More Than Half A Century
​http://wnep.com/2016/07/20/girl-scout-camp-closes-after-more-than-half-a-century/
After more than half a century, a Girl Scout camp in Columbia County is closed for good. Leaders with Girl Scouts in the Heart of Pennsylvania made the announcement Monday night that Camp Louise is closed.

​Camp Louise has been around since 1959, a nearly 350 acre camp outside of Shickshinny.

​Leaders of the Girl Scouts in the Heart of Pennsylvania say there is too much to fix at Camp Louise, from the pool, cabins, the dam on the lake.
Flooding forces closure of local Girl Scout camp
http://www.sungazette.com/page/content.detail/id/541540.html?nav=5009
Our Board soon came to a crossroads; either continue to try to manage all twelve with very limited opportunity for any type of capital or programmatic improvements or reduce the number of camp properties and truly commit to taking the quality of the outdoor experience that we offer for both our girls and our volunteers to a whole new level. This decision was not taken lightly.
Former Girl Scout Camp El Wa Ho finds new owners in Mormon Church
http://www.publicopiniononline.com/ci_20907607/former-girl-scout-camp-el-wa-ho-finds
El Wa Ho, located east of Fayetteville just inside Adams County, was closed by the Girl Scouts in the Heart of Pennsylvania District in 2010 and bought by eight Mormon stakes this spring.
Former Girl Scout camp to become part of Codorus State Park
http://www.eveningsun.com/ci_20174149/state-buy-reopen-local-camp-scouting-activities
The Harrisburg-based Girl Scouts In The Heart of Pennsylvania announced Wednesday it had sold the 18-acre property adjacent to Codorus State Park to the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for $450,000.
Girl Scout camp set to close
http://www.eveningsun.com/ci_14670893
One year and almost $40,000 of her own money later, Diana Weaver thought the camp site for her local Girl Scout troop was in good shape.

The barn roof at Camp Gi-Sco-Ha - located east of Hanover, adjacent to Codorus State Park - had previously been replaced, as had the old fireplace there. Volunteers had kept up maintenance, painted benches, trimmed hedges. And Weaver's out-of-pocket donation last year to completely refinish the road that runs through the camp had the local Scouts sitting pretty.

Or so the volunteers there thought.

That was before they received a letter this month from "Girl Scouts in the Heart of Pennsylvania" - an organization in charge of 12 Girl Scout camps in northeastern and central Pennsylvania - that told a different story.

Using phrases like "business planning process," "unprecedented financial challenges," and "the right balance of logic and passion," Scouting officials told Weaver and other local Scout leaders things would have to change with the times.

Girl Scouts of NYPENN Pathways

(See also New York)
  • Camp Sugar Creek, Troy
Announcement to sell June 2012
Girls Scouts of NYPENN Pathways to sell two camps
http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2012/06/girl_scouts_of_nypenn_pathways.html

Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania, GSEP
  • Camp Tweedale, Chesco (closed May 31, 2015)
  • Tohikanee, Quakertown (closed May 31, 2015)
  • Hidden Falls, Dingman's Ferry (divested as of September 30, 2012)
Decision to sell announced June 2011
Girl Scouts say goodbye to Camp Tweedale
http://www.dailylocal.com/general-news/20150607/girl-scouts-say-goodbye-to-camp-tweedale
Closing ceremonies for Camp Tweedale and Camp Tohikanee
http://gsep.stage.towermarketing.net/camp/outdoor-program-vision/
Girl Scouts to close beloved Camp Tweedale in Chesco
http://www.delcotimes.com/articles/2011/06/27/news/doc4e0882c45b8ac285430207.txt

From the comments section:
Let us be clear it is not due to that sentimentality the membership of Girl Scout of Eastern PA would like to keep these three camps open. It is basic Financial and environmental reasons

Camp Tweedale is in Oxford Pennsylvania. Oxford is in one of the most impoverished areas of Pennsylvania. It is the most impoverished area of Chester County. Based on the free lunch statistics more then 30% of the households in Oxford live below the poverty level. Camp Tweedale provides the girls of Southern Chester County with a place to go and have positive experiences away from poverty they experience everyday. There are very few cars in Oxford, one car to every three homes. It not an option to drive to another camp site 2-3 hour car ride away. If Camp Tweedale is closed Girl Scouts will become a non entity in Southern Chester County and girls that would have had a chance to climb out of poverty with the opportunities scouts can offer will be lost

Camp Tohikanee in Quakertown also serves the population of Bucks County by offering Day Camps, Service Unit, and Troop camping. The lost of this site will also cause financial burdens on parents, troops and service units. The lost of this camp will cause girls to leave scouts. In these days of lay offs, cut backs and $4.00 a gallon gas it is not an option to drive 3 hours to another camp site. Scout Day Camp will become a thing of the past as it not possible to drive 2-3 hours to Day Camp
Camp Hidden Falls in Dingman's Ferry is an Environmental Wonderland. To sell this to Developers will have an environmental impact on our Great Grandchildren
We are not sentimental we are not out of touch with our children's needs or desires and we certainly are not out of touch with today's technology. We do not need multimillion dollar motel style cabins to have technology.

Girl Scouts of Western Pennsylvania, GSWPA

  • Camp Lend-A-Hand, Conneaut
Closed and up for sale 2010

  • Camp Timberlakes, West Bethlehem
  • Camp Trefoil Trails, Hermitage
  • Camp Wright-O-Way, Chippewa
Above 3 camps, closure and sale announced October 2011

  • Camp Pine Grove, Gardners
Reverted to city ownership 2009

  • Camp Birdsall Edey, Pleasant Twp
Lease terminated during LRPP process

  • Camp Yough, Elizabeth Twp
To close Oct 2013 and be sold

  • Camp Roy Weller, Bruceton Mill
Council planned to sell due to adjacent horse track, deal fell through in 2010, camp still open at this point.

  • Camp Resting Waters, Kane
Council was looking to sell in 2009 due to landfill being built adjacent. Camp still open at this point. 
Camp Updates 2010
http://www.gswpa.org/newsroom/newsroom-article?article_id=587
Girl Scouts to Invest in Girl Members and Programming Through Sale of Camps
http://www.gswpa.org/newsroom/newsroom-article?article_id=462
Research indicated that girls expressed greater interest in programming opportunities than rustic camp experiences, and for that reason the council decided to invest into camps best suited for program development.
Scout Camp May CloseGirl Scouts weigh Trefoil Trails’ future
http://sharonherald.com/local/x434663745/Scout-camp-may-close

Girl Scouts to keep Camp Hawthorne Ridge in Fairview, sell Lend-a-Hand near Conneaut Lake
http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2010306259853

Girl Scouts planning to close 6 camps
http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/sectionfront/life/girl-scouts-planning-to-close-6-camps-249142/
Historically, Girl Scouting has been synonymous with camping -- sleeping in tents, building fires, hunting crayfish in stream beds, hiking in the woods.

But interest in those rustic experiences has waned, and Girl Scout membership has declined. Today -- two years before Girl Scouting's 100th anniversary -- only 25 percent of the members of Girl Scouts Western Pennsylvania participate in camping activities.

Meanwhile, the region's membership fell to 35,500 last year, or 6,500 fewer than in 2007, when five smaller councils merged as part of a national realignment. That's better than the national trend -- 12 percent of eligible girls belong, compared to 9 percent nationally -- but leaders still recognized a need for reassessment.

As a result, the council is planning to divest six camps in its 27-county area over the next three years. The closures will target facilities where troops and their leaders go as a group for overnights. Summer resident camps will continue to operate.

Slated to be sold are Camp Yough in Elizabeth Township; Camp Timberlake in Washington County; Camp Wright-o-Way in Chippewa; Camp Lend-a-Hand in Crawford County; and Camp Trefoil Trails in Mercer County. Furthermore, the lease will not be renewed for Camp Birdsall Edey in Warren County.

The saved resources will go to improving the remaining camps -- Camp Redwing in Renfrew, for example, may get an indoor horseback riding facility that could operate year-round -- and toward beefing up other programs in high demand, such as science, technology and financial literacy.



Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/sectionfront/life/girl-scouts-planning-to-close-6-camps-249142/#ixzz2dPBeEtWJ