Jekyll Island opens state-funded $17M youth education campus
JEKYLL ISLAND, Ga. (AP) — A new $17 million youth camp designed to host programs from soccer and band camps to environmental education courses is now open on Jekyll Island.
Gov. Nathan Deal attended the official opening Monday of Camp Jekyll, a 15-acre campus built to replace the old 4-H Center that had operated on the island state park since the 1980s. Deal and the state Legislature agreed to fund the campus using taxpayer money.
Georgia 4-H will operate Camp Jekyll beginning in February, while the Jekyll Island Authority will maintain its buildings and grounds.
The campus has room to sleep up to 256 students during overnight stays and youth camps. Jones Hooks, executive director of the Jekyll Island Authority, says he expects more than 13,000 children to attend Camp Jekyll programs each year.