YMCA of the Pines

About YMCA of the Pines

Founded in 1906, YMCA of the Pines is an interfaith, charitable organization dedicated to helping children, teens and families explore, grow, thrive and ultimately become the best version of themselves. YMCA of the Pines is located on 800 acres in the New Jersey Pine Barrens, and has grown from operating a summer camp solely for boys to a year-round organization offering programs to tens of thousands of children and families annually. Our core operations are three summer camps, Ockanickon overnight camp for boys, Matollionequay overnight camp for girls and Lake Stockwell a Co-ed Day Camp. We also serve children through our specialty camps partnerships, which include: Camp Bright Feathers dedicated to serving children and teens affected by public health concerns, principally HIV/AIDS and/or violence, through a nurturing overnight camp program that focuses on improving the health, well-being and self-sufficiency of all; Camp Kesem a nationwide community, driven by passionate college student leaders, that supports children through and beyond their parent's cancer; Camp Firefly For children who have lost a parent, sibling or other special person through death, Camp Firefly provides a special place to share feelings, to make new friends, and to find relief from grief. Throughout the camp weekend, activities designed to help ease grief are combined with traditional fun camp experiences such as swimming, canoeing, cookouts, and arts-and-crafts. In addition to these camps, we serve school students from throughout New Jersey through our Environmental Education programs, a variety of churches and non-profit groups through our Outdoor Center group services retreats, team-building and spirit-building programs and our Child Care Program where we host the Before-and-After school care for local school students through our nine School’s Out sites providing vital before and after school services with robust curriculum.