The Craigville Retreat Center (CRC), open year round, is situated in the small private village of Craigville. It is perfect for retreats, workshops, educational programs, vacations, and family reunions. Adult, youth, and family groups from all denominations and faiths use the Center for overnight and weekend gatherings. National foundations, educational institutions and social service agencies find Craigville perfect for planning, education, and evaluation groups.

Businesses find that its non-commercial privacy, without distractions, enables them to conduct intense educational programs, including summer camps and conferences for young people, adults, and families, as well as many other special programs. An annual event is the respected Craigville Theological Colloquy.

In the summer season, swimming is available at our private facility on world-famous Craigville Beach, and volleyball and softball fields, as well as tennis courts, are on the grounds. Fishing and public golf courses are close by. The Center is also available for day groups seeking a meeting facility with or without meals.

United Camps, Conferences & Retreats (UCCR) History

The idea for United Camps, Conferences & Retreats (UCCR) was born in 1970 out of an ecumenical spirit moved by both the positive educational values of the residential camp/conference and retreat center experience, and the challenge of economic survival.

UCCR has remained a vital organization living out its mission of creating partnerships to provide positive life-changing experiences.

United Camps, Conferences and Retreats was incorporated in February 1970. At that time, the organization was made up of five members whose organizational goals were to create a regional strategy for use, ownership, and development of camp, conference s and retreats and to (a) provide a base for testing and experimentation with emerging new programs; (b) to create a centralized administrative unit capable of providing sensitive and efficient management and reporting.

These first years of UCCR were spent experimenting, learning, organizing, and changing. Many improvements were made in reservations management, staff selection and training, budget management and promotion.

Early in 1973, the Board of Directors determined the need for a system of management control that would:

1)     presume each facility would be self-sustaining;

2)     assess rates that would provide for self-support;

3)     monitor firm revenue projections as the basis for operational decisions;

4)     establish budgetary controls to monitor spending of variable income;

5)     remain flexible to changing conditions.

The effort to achieve these goals was successful. Two years later it was no longer necessary in most cases to ask the members to regularly subsidize their facilities’ operational budgets.

In 1989, UCCR created the Web of Life Field (WOLF) School to provide environmental education in an out-of-doors residential classroom. In 2014 WOLF added additional programming in Ohio, Nature’s Classroom. The school has grown steadily and serves children and youth through three different curricula. The school’s function in the business model is to use sites mid-week in the off-season, a time that normally many sites have availability. WOLF has expanded to offer summer and winter camps.

At Craigville, UCCR provides on-site maintenance, food service, housekeeping, and customer service to the guests who reserve retreat space at Craigville. UCCR’s main office in Petaluma, California provides support to Craigville in the areas of reservations, sales, marketing, human resource, accounting, and major maintenance issues.