Camp Arrowhead in Lewes is moving to replace an aging piece of its facility.
The 110-acre Camp Arrowhead located on Rehoboth Bay hopes to build a new dining hall and retreat center by next spring.
Camp Arrowhead executive director Walt Lafontaine notes the existing 58-year-old structure is too small and isn’t used in the winter because it does not have heat.
He says other issues also helped make the choice to build a new one easy.
“It’s an open-air kitchen and it’s hard to keep clean. And the roof started to go about six years ago and we had somebody in and they said we can either patch the roof for $50,000 or we can replace it for $300,000," said Lafontaine. "And we started to look at the building and knew it was too small for what we had.”
So, Camp Arrowhead is seeking to raise $4.5 million to build the Jane Clifton Ashford Center to replace it.
$3.8 million has already been raised, including $1 million from one source.
“The Ashford family in Wilmington," said Lafontaine. "They’re very well known and respected and Jane Clifton Ashford did a lot with The Wilmington Grand and the Boys and Girls Club and she was very well known for her philanthropy.”
Camp Arrowhead hopes to break ground on the new building in August with a goal of opening it in May 2022.
Camp Arrowhead offers a co-ed residential summer camp for students entering grades 2 through 11, a Day Camp program for local kids entering grades 2-5, and a Retreat Center from mid-August to June.
