Association expands retreat programs
WEXFORD, Allegheny County — The Spina Bifida Association of Western Pennsylvania renamed its camping and retreat program to match its expansion.
Formerly known as the Woodlands Foundation because of the association's partnership with The Woodlands camping retreat in Bradford Woods, the association's camping and retreat program will now be known as Firefly Camps and Retreats.
C.H. Lynch, executive director of the association, said the new name will come with additional outdoor retreat locations beyond The Woodlands, which the association has used exclusively for retreats since the 1990s.
"By using other facilities in different parts of the state, we can deliver the same quality of service in the form of our camps and retreats to a larger population of individuals with spina bifida and to their families," Lynch said.
The Woodlands Foundation will now operate as a separate entity from the Spina Bifida Association, which will continue to schedule retreats there for people with disabilities. But this fall, the association will hold some it its retreat at the Family Retreat Center on Freeport Road. The proximity of The Woodlands will allow the association to experiment with holding events away from the facility it has known for so long.
"Since many of our current families were instrumental in building a first class facility, it will be difficult to replicate (The Woodlands) elsewhere," Lynch said. "Realizing that, we needed to practice holding retreats at a location close enough so that we could easily recover from forgetting something without impacting the flow of the retreat itself."
Eventually, Lynch said, the association will hold weekend retreats and summer camps at multiple sites throughout Western Pennsylvania.
The Firefly Camps and Retreats continues to be the signature program for the association, which is committed to improving the quality of life for people with spina bifida and their families by providing support services, education and advocacy. The association's headquarters is on Dutilh Road, just east of the Family Retreat Center.
More information about the association and its programs is available at www.sbawp.org or at 1-800-243-5787.
