The Wend Collective paid $7 million for Camps Talcott, McAlister and Greenkill, which collectively span about 1,000 acres in Huguenot, New York, about five miles northwest of Port Jervis.
That sum is about $2 million over the YMCA’s asking price — likely a welcome windfall as the youth organization deals with the economic fallout of the pandemic.
The firm hasn’t announced plans for the properties, but does want to continue the camps’ longtime mission of serving disadvantaged youth.
Sharon Greenberger, President and CEO of the YMCA of Greater NYC, said in a statement that the organization chose Wend because of “their integrity, commitment and vision to continue serving the interests of the community.”
Wend, co-led by James Walton, grandson of Walmart founder Sam Walton, has also been funding reports in Providence, Rhode Island on the city’s police department and history of racial injustice, according to the Boston Globe.
The fund donated $500,000 to the YMCA of Greater NYC as part of the purchase, and plans to solicit input from the communities that historically attended the camps to devise a plan for the properties. [Albany Times-Union] — Dennis Lynch