Camp Centennial Milestones

Children's Outing Association/Camp Helen Brachman

Almond, Wisconsin
Established: 1906

The Children's Outing Association has provided continuous camping experiences at a variety of sites for 100 years. In 1906 a group of women took eight needy children to camp for fresh air and sunshine. Their society, renamed the Children's Outing Association, acquired four acres of land along the Milwaukee River in Thiensville, Wisconsin, for a Fresh Air Camp. By 1929, the camp had outgrown its facilities and moved to a new site near Delafield, Wisconsin. By 1990, COA was serving over 450 children and 390 teens each summer, including special diabetic and weight management sessions and yet another, larger, campsite was necessary. Since 1991, COA's camping program has continued to expand and the organization now provides programs for summer, winter and family camping; year-round camping for community and school groups, and collaborates with other youth-serving agencies to provide teen leadership camps, camping programs for the Boys & Girls Clubs, and many more. In 2005, Camp Helen Brachman provided camping services for 1,970 participants.