If it’s been a few years since your last visit to Camp Gray, then you may not recognize Camp’s St. Vincent Retreat Center (Vinnies!). Thanks to contributions from our generous benefactors and camp families, over the past two years, Vinnies has been completely remodeled – so that it likely looks even better than it did way back in 1974, the year it was built.
During our 9 weeks of summer camp, Vinnies plays host to nearly every single female camper in grades 2-8, which ends up being a large number of campers! In addition, Vinnies is the main retreat center for the balance of the year, accommodating well over one thousand school and church group retreatants per school year.
During the winter months of 2009-2010, the bathrooms of Vinnies were completely gutted and remodeled. The lobby, and the wings on each side of the lobby, were then gutted and remodeled during the late winter of 2011. Previously, the rooms in Vinnies held only up to six campers each, meaning cabin groups of 8-10 girls would be split into two rooms. An extremely popular change during the remodel was to knock down common walls, turning cramped rooms of six into spacious rooms of 12 – enough for an entire group of campers and two counselors! Installing new double-pane insulating windows, to help Vinnies stay toasty warm during the colder months, and better ventilation, to help with air flow in the warmer summer months, were also important and popular additions.
To all those that helped contribute to this long needed project, we – the staff at Camp Gray, and the thousands that will benefit from these improvements – say, from the bottom of our hearts, “Thank you!”
Click the image below to see an enlarged image of the lobby of Vinnies.
The Vinnies Lobby
Faith, Friends, & Fun! Camp Gray is the Catholic Summer Camp and year-round Retreat Center of the Diocese of Madison, WI.
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