Help Troop 255 Repair Their Home, Camp Conron

Hello, I am Millie Hong, the scoutmaster of the Boy Scouts of America Troop 255. Troop 255 is based in Whitestone, New York, where we are proud of over 30 scouts along with numerous parents and other volunteers.

The Boy Scouts of America provides youth in their communities with an outlet for experiencing and appreciating the outdoors, attaining valuable leadership skills, and even ways to explore many future career options. Our values and principles are growing more valuable for preparing future generations to become greater leaders and pillars of their families, nation, and world.

These experiences for scouts to build valuable life experiences and friendships are provided to us by Camp Conron, a 57 acre camp upstate in Holmes, New York. The story of Camp Conron begins with its establishment in 1965 by Troop 255's founder, Mr. James Conron.

Mr. Conron built Camp Conron when many Boy Scouts camps on Long Island were shutting down, limiting places available for scouts to conduct one of our most valuable activities - camping. With the help of a client at his bank and the scout fathers, he was able to raise funds and people to build all the amenities still available to our scouts today - a main house, lean-tos, a lake for fishing and boating, a basketball court, and even hiking trails. Future scoutmasters continued to enlist the help of scout families to grow Camp Conron. Since its inception nearly 60 years ago, Camp Conron has been entirely built from the generosity and determination of volunteers, committed to providing scouts with a beautiful camp where memories and experiences are forged.

Camp Conron continues to serve its scouts restlessly, even through the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that has put many camps out of commission. Camp Conron is home to monthly day trips for Troop 255, where outdoor activities are conducted in compliance with COVID-19 regulations. At a time when so many people, especially children, are confined indoors, we are proud to provide a safe place for our scouts to grow their relationship with nature, their fellow scouts, and leadership. Camp Conron will always be built upon the foundation set so many years ago from donations and volunteers who saw the investment Camp Conron represents towards our future generations. Under the leadership of myself and our many scouting parents, we wish to fulfill our duty towards maintaining Camp Conron.

Camp Conron has fallen into disrepair in recent years, and as the honorable Mr. James Conron did in those decades past, we are asking for help to see that it continues to serve our scouts well. As time and the elements wore down on the camp, it has grown more and more apparent that our facilities are in need of repair. These fixes include:

• Replacement of the roof on the main house
• Repairs on lighting in the main house
• Repairs on windows in the main house
• Repairs on deck of the main house
• Repairs on boiler and plumbing system
• Repairs to the basketball court

Replacing the roof on our main house is currently our biggest priority, for the safety of our scouting family. Our goal is to ensure that Camp Conron will always be safe for our scouts to enjoy and learn. As such, we kindly request that you donate any amount you see fit towards the repairs and maintenance that Camp Conron needs. We hope that our story and mission remains worthy of your contribution - to educate and equip our youth to becoming strong and capable leaders.

Thank you for continuing Troop 255's journey in raising our future's leaders.

Regards,

Millie