NEW Western Town at Carol Joy Holling Camp!

The Situation

As guests enter Angels Gulch, they are transported back in time to the days of the Old West. They can stroll down an old boardwalk, amble over to the livery stable, or stay overnight in a rustic cowboy bunkhouse. This unique program site serves three purposes:

• Ranch Camp – Every summer 400 junior high campers descend on Angels Gulch for a rip-roaring good time spent learning about God and preparing for a life of adventure.
• Jay Novicki Program – Not wanting to miss out on the fun, nearly 500 people with disabilities annually participate in specially-designed day camps and overnight retreats.
• Conferences and Retreats – Each year Angels Gulch offers memorable meeting and housing services for dozens of church, community, school and corporate groups.

While the re-created Western Town offers good, clean fun, Angels Gulch needs to be enhanced to keep pace with guest preferences and expectations. Specific improvements include replacing aging lodging facilities for campers; upgrading restroom and shower facilities; and creating accessible buildings that support people with disabilities.

In order to meet the pent-up demand, Carol Joy Holling Center must increase the quantity and quality of meeting spaces; create facilities that support year-round use; and expand its capacity to serve camp, conference and retreat guests. With your support, Angels Gulch Western Town will ride high in the saddle once again and serve more guests with new and improved facilities.

The Solution

Desiring to improve camper and guest experiences, Carol Joy Holling Center will construct two attractive and accessible buildings that offer convenient lodging, meeting and gathering space. The new facilities will be directly across from the existing Angels Gulch buildings, which creates a realistic two-sided Main Street. In keeping with the authentic western atmosphere, the two new buildings will have storefront designs that complement the Old West theme.

• Hotel Theodore – This two-story building will offer a large meeting room that accommodates 150 people in banquet seating and more than 200 people in auditorium seating. It will feature four distinct living units—each with nine sets of bunk beds, adjacent restrooms with showers and a meeting room. At full capacity the hotel building will house 72 individuals. The first floor of this building will be ADA compliant.
• New Bunkhouse – This one-story building will offer a common living area with six bunk rooms, accessible restrooms with showers and a meeting room. Each bunk room will contain bunk beds, which will accommodate 36 people when fully occupied. The entire building will be ADA compliant.

These new facilities will replace the existing Angels Gulch bunkhouses. They will house hundreds of junior high campers each summer, plus they will provide accessible overnight accommodations for programs serving people with special needs. Retreat and conference groups will also enjoy time away in the Western Town’s comfortable accommodations, which can house up to 108 overnight guests.

The Significance

The new Angels Gulch facilities will have a tremendous impact on Carol Joy Holling Center.

Ranch Camp – The new buildings will provide greatly improved and more attractive housing for summer campers. Campers and guests will appreciate having restrooms and showers available in the same building where they sleep. This will reinforce Carol Joy Holling Center’s position as one of the premier Christian camps in the state, which invites people of all faiths to enjoy its programs and places.

• Jay Novicki Program – The ADA-accessible facilities will greatly enhance Carol Joy Holling Center’s capacity to serve people with disabilities. Carol Joy Holling Center currently partners with Mosaic, Ollie Webb Center, Quality Living, Northstar, Pathways, Ashland-Greenwood High School and Hands on the Heartland to offer day retreats and overnight experiences for people with special needs.
• Conferences and Retreats – Many other groups served by Carol Joy Holling Center will find these new facilities conducive to the success of their programs. The current Angel’s Gulch facilities are used annually by the Conference for Inclusive Communities, University of Nebraska Lincoln, Creighton University, Nebraska Wesleyan University, Omaha Area Youth Orchestra and many other church, family, school and business retreat groups. These guest groups are eager to move out of the rustic bunkhouses into more comfortable housing.