GRAB SOME GRUB. The YMCA of the Chippewa Valley has launched a fundraising campaign to replace the existing dining hall at Camp Manitou, shown here. (Submitted photos)

YMCA Camp Manitou is hoping to meet the appetites of hungry campers through donations for a new dining hall – and it’s almost three-quarters of the way there already.

The YMCA of the Chippewa Valley, which has operated the summer camp near New Auburn for more than a century, recently unveiled the public phase of a $5.5 million capital campaign for a newer, bigger dining hall.

“We are incredibly grateful to have received a leading gift of $1.25 million from Dick and Marcia Larson to support this project,” said Brian Moore, the camp’s executive director. “With their support, along with the support of many other individuals and businesses, we are excited to call on the community to help us reach our fundraising goal.”

Proposed designs for the interior and exterior of the new dining hall.

In announcing the campaign, the YMCA called the project “an investment in the lives of children for the next 100 years.” The current dining hall was built in the 1950s, when there were only about 80 campers per session; these days attendance per session can reach 240 hungry kids. In addition, a new building will include bathrooms and storm shelter space.

"Our campers currently seek shelter in five different locations during severe weather,” Moore said. “The new dining hall with an attached storm shelter will solve this issue by bringing everyone together, ensuring their safety and comfort.”

In addition, the new dining hall “will feature improved acoustics for communal gatherings, six single-stall bathrooms with showers, a beverage station to warm up campers on chilly mornings, and multi-purpose rooms for indoor programming, which are invaluable during inclement weather,” the YMCA says. And, subject to funding, the facility could feature geothermal heating and cooling as well as solar power – all of it providing lessons in sustainability.

If all goes as planned, fundraising will be finalized next year, construction will begin at the end of the summer 2025 campaign season, and the new building will be ready by the start of summer 2026.

To learn more about the campaign or to donate, visit ycampmanitou.org/give, or contact Brian Moore at (715) 559-2958 or bmoore@ymca-cv.org.