About Wanake
Wanake, a year-round camp and retreat center owned and operated by the East Ohio Conference of The United Methodist Church, has served as a Christian camp and retreat center since 1946. Wanake offers:
- Summer camp programs for children Kindergarten through grade 12
- The Rental of Camp and Retreat Facilities, Food Service, and Program Opportunities for those carrying out retreat, conference, or camp events
- An Outstanding Outdoor Education location with excellent food service
- Weekend Retreat Programs for adults, families and teens throughout the year
Serving more than 5,000 guests annually, Wanake looks forward to welcoming you on your visit.
Wanake is managed by director, Julie Lautt, who resides at the camp. Many full-time and part-time staff, paid and volunteer, assist in providing hospitality to guests. The staff includes:
- Julie Lautt
director - Dan Bajc
assistant director - Phil White
site manager - Dale L. Swearingen Jr.
food service manager
Additional emails for basic info and to volunteer:
Wanake is proud to be accredited by the American Camping Association (ACA)
Developed exclusively for the camp profession, this nationally recognized program focuses on program quality, health and safety issues, and requires review of every facet of our operations. Wanake has voluntarily submitted to this independent appraisal done by camp experts and has earned this mark of distinction.
Wanake is also a member of the Christian Camp and Conference Association, an association committed to promoting excellence in Christian camping and hospitality through leadership development.
Wanake Camp and Retreat Center is open to all persons regardless of race, gender, age, religion, or disability. The camp is a not-for-profit, religiously affiliated organization and meets all criteria as a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization.
Wanake pursues excellence
Wanake’s participation in a two-year national study in 2004 and 2005 with the American Camp Association produced significant results. The first year of the study provided a baseline for Wanake’s summer camp program’s impact on participants. The second year was focused on improving aspects of the program. When the results were analyzed from 2005, we found that Wanake had significantly improved in areas that include leadership development, skill development, challenge, and supportive relationships. It is very exciting to statistically find what we have known for years about Camp and Retreat Ministries. Camps and Retreats are high impact experiences through which the Holy Spirit can significantly change lives.
While the study has ended, Wanake continues to develop program, policies, and procedures to benefit the children, adults, teens, and families we are blessed to serve based on what we learn each year and continue to research about the impact of the camp and retreat experience. Email for more information about the study and the results.
Director, Julie Lautt
Julie Lautt is the director at Wanake. Born in Mansfield, Ohio, Julie grew up in Ohio and spent seven years growing up living at Wanake as the daughter of Wanake director, David Schar.
Julie has spent all but a handful of years living at a United Methodist Church camp in Ohio, Iowa and Upstate New York. Julie has worked in Christian camp and retreat ministry within the United Methodist Church for over 25 years, serving as a full-time site director since 1992: serving as director of Aldersgate Camp and Retreat Center in the North Central New York Annual Conference for 11 years and here at Wanake since March of 2003.
Julie lives on site with her husband, Steve, and their three children: Tabitha, Dylan and Bethany.
Wanake is a spiritual home for Julie. It was the first place Julie was a camper and is where she first met Jesus as Lord and Savior.