As they fueled up with homemade baked donuts and cups of light roast coffee, the camp’s internship director detailed its history and core values: faith, family, and fun.
However, attention shifted to the right as Pine Valley staff continued.
Employees from Portage tried to conceal their glances — but focusing can be hard after learning your day will be spent scouring a 12-foot-deep, musty-smelling pool filled with algae, animals, and other unknown surprises no one wants to meet.
A time lapse look at Portage Learning employees scouring the swimming pool at Pine Valley Camp in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania.
“It’s always a messy job,” Matt Reichart, executive director of the camp, quips in an interview afterward.
When the crew from Pine Valley asked who wanted to jump in first though, a dozen people eagerly raised their hands.
That type of enthusiasm makes a world of difference.
Each summer, the camp welcomes hundreds of children from underserved communities across western Pennsylvania. Matt and his wife, Susan, took over its operations in 1995.
The aptly named property lies hidden at the bottom of a valley surrounded by pine trees along Brush Creek.
Kids stay one week at a time, arriving Sunday evening then departing on Friday, for a minimal cost. High school- and college-aged counselors help them nurture a love for the outdoors and Jesus through activities such as swimming, hiking, and nightly chapel services.
When asked about Pine Valley’s impact, Matt pauses, breathing deeply to prevent tears before stating in a cracked voice, “The kids who come to our camp often experience horrific trauma and during those six days, they become hopeful. It’s incredibly rewarding to see that short- and long-term change.”
He recalled a recent encounter to drive the point home.
“Just the other day, I stopped at a Wendy’s, and a worker came up to me, asking if I was Papa Matt from Pine Valley. Turns out, he was a former camper, and it was just great to see him – and others – all grown up, holding down a job and doing well in life.”
Portage organizes two volunteer days annually and offers a week of volunteer time to support its staff and give back to the communities they serve.
On this day, employees also lent their skills to Skybacher Ministries, which uses sports and culture to meet the needs of Beaver County students and parents.
Portage Learning employee Brittne Weigand helps install flooring during a volunteer effort at Skybacher Ministries in Freedom, Pennsylvania.
Rather than slosh through Pine Valley’s sludge-filled pool, volunteers painted lines for basketball and foursquare courts, installed flooring, and built a gaga ball court.
The organization purchased an old church last year, providing a permanent space for its outreach programs to meet. Kristie Mohrbacher and her husband, John, started Skybacher in 2004.
“This company has been so instrumental in helping us get to this spot,” Kristie says. “It’s the third time Portage has been out since we took over the building, and it’s actually spurred other organizations to do a workday, which has been wonderful.”
Matt echoes her words.
“Our staff are phenomenal, high-quality folks, who do the job of four to six people, so volunteers are huge for us,” he explains. “They lighten the very physical load of getting the camp ready.” The people who use the spaces most won’t notice the work done on a single April day.
But that’s OK.
Perhaps the point.
Portage Learning employees Rachel Walker and Stevie Michalik work on the gaga ball court at Skybacher Ministries in Freedom, Pennsylvania.
They will instead experience its impact in every safe space created and every activity made possible.
When their hope comes back because someone chose to raise a hand.
(Big impact starts with small acts of service. Get involved with Portage Community, a nonprofit organization started by Portage Learning, and help support the educational journeys of students.)
