EFFORT, Pa. — For nearly a decade, veterans have received help and food from the Valor Clinic Foundation in Polk Township near Effort, and soon enough, founder Mark Baylis says they will have a new property to be able to reach even more veterans
"We're excited about it. We're going to get more vets through our program. We're going to better the main four relationship collapse, long-term physical health problems, addiction, and unemployment problems, so we're going to expand and do all forum," Baylis said.
The Minsi Trails Boy Scouts Council executive board voted to sell the 755-acre Trexler Scout Reservation to the Trexler Veterans Initiative for $7.8 million.
Baylis says the Trexler Veterans initiative isn't actually an organization, just an LLC used for the purchase.
The property will be leased to the Valor Clinic Foundation.
"Our holiday meals will be here, and our veteran's unstoppable program will be here, and our partnership for vocational training to help deal with that success cause of long-term unemployment and financial problems will be here, and our outdoor activities will be here," Baylis said.
Part of the agreement, once Valor takes over, is that the scouts will still be able to camp here when the vets aren't using it.
"I don't think it's a good idea to have a lot of kids running around while we're trying to work vets through the emotional scars so. It wouldn't be, hey, they can walk on whenever they want, but we will be able to schedule it and coordinate it," Baylis said.
The goal is also to preserve easements and prohibits future development on the property.
"The conservation people wanna tear down a lot of the buildings," Baylis said. "We want to preserve the camp and use it as is. Which includes preserving the land as it is. So I think it's a good balance for everybody in the community."
Baylis says the buyer is closing on the property on Friday.
After summer camp this year, the camp has until the end of September to move out. Then Valor will take over.
The Boy Scouts announced the plan to sell the property in March of 2022 to help fund a multi-billion-dollar settlement involving thousands of sex abuse claims.
Check out WNEP’s YouTube channel.