Our 70 Year history

The Alexandria Police Youth Camp has a long and proud history. In 1936, the idea of a camp was born when Lt. Henry Grimm and Lt. Robert Brenner, both with the Alexandria Police Department, along with Jack Tullock, a sports reporter for the Alexandria Gazette, decided to find a place for the children of Alexandria in the summer time.  Due to War World II, no immediate action was taken.

After the war, Lt. Grimm and Brenner went to the Alexandria Police Association (APA) and told them of their plans to start a camp.  The APA endorsed the plan, appropriated $2,000, selected a Board of Directors, and authorized them to borrow $10,000 more to purchase a site for the camp.

In June 1946, the current 97-Acre site was purchased with a mortgage of $10,500 to be prepaid in 11 years.  Mr. Ashby Redmon, President of the Old Mutual Ice Company in Alexandria, agreed to back the loan.  A campaign was started by the APA to raise $35,000 for the overall construction and operation of the camp.

In June 1947, the camp was incorporated under the name of Alexandria Police Boy's Camp, Inc. The camp was operated each summer by Alexandria Officers who frequently used their vacation time to help.

In 2007, the Alexandria Police Youth Camp board of directors contracted with the Peninsula Metropolitan YMCA to operate all camp programming. The Alexandria Police Youth Camp (APYC) continues to hold fundraisers and send kids to camp, while the YMCA uses its decades of experience to make sure the programming is top-notch. 

Pictured is the 1954 Board of Directors, from left to right: Sgt. Robert Brenner, Capt. James Baber, Lt. Henry Grimm, Cpl. Thomas McGowan, Sgt. William Bayliss, and Pvt. Marshall Snyder.