Goodwill buys former Owens Corning campground

• Goodwill Industries has purchased the Owens Corning campground on Hollander Street.
• After some renovations, the space will be used to trainings, events and programs.
• Goodwill provides job training and support for people with disabilities and barriers to employment.

NEWARK – For years, employees of Owens Corning were able to make memories and enjoy the outdoors at the company's campground at 840 Hollander St.

By the end of the month, employees and clients of Licking/Knox Goodwill Industries Inc. will be able to enjoy the 32-acre space.

Goodwill CEO and President Timothy Young announced Monday that the agency has purchased the campground from Owens Corning.

Renamed The Grove by the River, the facility will be used for training, programs and recreation opportunities for Goodwill's clients and staff.

"We think having outdoor time is really beneficial. It's a real passion for Tim to incorporate the community and the outdoors," said Lisa Baker, director of communications. "It gives us a whole other opportunity to expand."

A nonprofit organization, Goodwill provides jobs, job training and support to people with physical and developmental disabilities and other barriers to employment, such as homelessness and lack of work experience.

More than 300 people are employed by Licking/Knox Goodwill working in retail stores, administrative jobs, automotive service and maintenance. About 80 percent of them have a disability. The agency offers programs for students and teens as well as adults, Baker said.

Goodwill has been looking for an outdoor space for more than a year, she said.

"We are always looking for different ways to provide training and support services," she said. "If you are going to work, you want to have time to play as well, and we thought having a park or outdoor facility would be neat."

Used by Owens Corning since the 1970s, the property was used for corporate retreats and special events, Baker said. It has a more than 8,500-square-foot banquet facility as well as a shelter house, a playground and 42 RV campsites, Baker said.

The campground was a popular destination for retired Owens Corning employees, she said.

In the past few years, the space was mostly used for meetings and awards banquets, said Chuck Hartlage, Owens Corning spokesman.

"We are happy to sell it to a great community organization like Goodwill and look forward to seeing what they do with the property," Hartlage said.

The property goes right up to the edge of the Licking River and has a sand volleyball court, baseball fields and a tennis court. Although some renovations are needed, Goodwill has a lot of options to improve the space and add new things, Young said.

"It gives us a lot of opportunities to work with our employees and the disabled community," he said. "We can give people a new concept of what Goodwill is about and what we can do together."

Continuing its mission of placing people in jobs, the acquisition of The Grove by the River will allow Goodwill to provide five new full-time positions and more than 20 part-time jobs, Baker said.

Clients will be able to be trained in landscaping, catering and food preparation and janitorial skills by helping out on the grounds and in the banquet facility.

Plans are underway to use The Grove for many of Goodwill's youth programs, and Baker said there will likely be job opportunities for teens to work there during the summer.

Goodwill will be able to have training sessions and meetings with bigger groups in the banquet facility, Baker said. She said she's looking forward to having the agency's annual Awards of Excellence ceremony there in March.

"It's a lot more meeting space than what we had in any of our other facilities," she said.

With winter coming, the agency will make some basic improvements to the facility, including resurfacing the parking lot and painting. More improvements will likely happen in the spring, Baker said.

Over time, Goodwill plans to make the entire property handicapped-accessible, adding an accessible playground and archery range in the next few years, Baker said.

For now, the property will be available to Goodwill employees and clients, Baker said.

The first event, a safe trick-or-treat for Goodwill employees and their families, will be Oct. 27. A public celebration of the new space will be conducted later this year, Young said.

He said his ultimate goal is to be able to rent the banquet facility and picnic shelter out to other nonprofits, as well as the public.

Since renovations have started on the property, Baker said, she has heard from a number of former Owens Corning employees with fond memories of the campground.

"People are excited to see it have new life and (are happy to) know it will be available again," she said.

ajeffries@newarkadvocate.com

740-328-8544

Twitter: @amsjeffries

Learn More

For more information on The Grove by the River, go to goodwillnewark.com.