Environmental Center Reception & Grand Opening. Visitors (l to r) included Hiram College Student Volunteer Jason Bricker, Hiram House Trustee Douglas Robertson, Hiram House President Robert Benedict, Hiram College Dean of Students Hugh McManamon, Student Volunteer Bryan Swindell, and Hiram College President Richard Scaldini New Hiram College and Hiram House Camp Partnership Benefits Environmental Center - Student Volunteers Obtained Grant, Donated Services -   Hiram College and Hiram House have collaborated on a joint project to enhance the camp's new Evelyn Hansen Ward Environmental Center and Weather Station and its programs, thanks to the efforts of student volunteers from the college and a $1,000 grant from the Ohio Campus Compact, a division of The Cleveland Foundation. A special Reception and Grand Opening was held on April 19 to unveil the new interior design of the Environmental Center, which includes a Treetop Puppet Theater, Nature Murals, Natural Resources Displays and Tables, as well as an Environmental Tunnel, complete with the layers of the earth and roots of a growing tree, among other features. Hiram College also donated microscopes and grant funds to provide water quality testing equipment for "Stream Studies"classes, plus field equipment, like nets and magnifying glasses. The partnership between the two organizations was initiated last fall by Douglas G. Robertson, and Hugh McManamon. Robertson is a trustee of The Hiram House, a graduate of Hiram College and a member of the Alumni Executive Committee. He also attended and worked at the camp as a youth. McManamon is the Dean of Students at Hiram College. Hiram College students and roommates Jason Bricker, a religious studies major, and Bryan Swindell, an environmental studies major, were instrumental in researching, writing, and obtaining the grant funds and in working with Michele Rothstein and Scott Wylie of the Hiram House program staff and fellow student volunteers to design and construct the new facilities. Both are seniors and members of the College's Environmental Action Coalition Club. More than thirty Hiram College students and several faculty members volunteered for the project through the Community Service Office at Hiram College, according to Alison Alrich, Americorp Vista Service Leader. Several have worked at Hiram House in the past or plan to work at camp this year as camp counselors working with youth in the School or Summer Camp programs. Hiram House was founded in 1896 by another Hiram College student, George A. Bellamy. (See Ohio Historical Marker, below, left.) Springtime brought the arrival of dozens of Northeast Ohio elementary and middle schools who visited Hiram House School Camp and were among the first campers to use the newly enhanced Environmental Center, courtesy of Hiram College and Student Volunteers. Garfield School students examined rocks and minerals (photo above). Children and guests enjoyed the story of "The Hungry Little Caterpiller" at the premiere show of the Treetop Puppet Theater (below).
Hershey Foundation Awards $100,000 to Hiram House Campaign
The Hershey Foundation, based in Cleveland, has awarded a $100,000 grant to Hiram House for its $5 million campaign to fund capital improvements at the 105-year-old youth camp. The grant will be used to build new facilities or renovate existing structures at the 172-acre campgrounds to help meet the growing needs of thousands of children from Northeast Ohio who attend the camp each year, said Russell R. Grundke, Executive Director. Planned improvements include five new residential log cabins, a new dining hall and program center, a teepee and ranch village, an equestrian center and farmstead, an alpine "challenge" tower, and renovation of the current dining- multi-purpose building, among others. "Hiram House has been enriching the lives of children for more than a century," said Debra Hershey Guren, The Hershey Foundation President. She added, "We, at The Hershey Foundation, are delighted to support this excellent program which brings children in touch with nature and outdoor activities so vital for healthy development." She explained that The Hershey Foundation, established in 1986 by her mother Jo Hershey Selden in honor of her father Alvin A. Hershey, is dedicated to providing NE Ohio children from all backgrounds with special opportunities for personal growth and development.
Annual Open House Draws Hundreds of Families
Welcome Summer Campers 2001! The eagerly awaited end of the school year and start of Summer Camp is finally here for thousands of youth attending Hiram House's Summer Resident, Day, and Junior Day Camps that begin in June and run through August. We welcome them all to our 2001 Summer Camp and look forward to a wonderful, fun-filled season ahead! Hundreds of area families attended the annual Summer Camp Open House in March and registration filled very quickly. Visitors toured the camp, met our staff, and enjoyed a preview of camp activities.