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Brides and grooms, employees on corporate retreats and people in need of an event complex have enjoyed ThorpeWood Lodge in Thurmont for 10 years, according to children's program director Bill Prudden.

But many of them never come to know about the other aspect of the operation, he said. On the opposite end of the 155-acre property sits a separate set of buildings used for different purposes.

"This part of the property, most adults never see," he said.

ThorpeWood, a nonprofit organization, uses the money it makes from events along with donations and funding from its parent foundation, the Merle Thorpe Jr. Charitable Trust, to operate programs for at-risk youth from around the state.

"A lot of people ... have supported our work with kids without even knowing it," Prudden said.

Prudden has a teaching background, and was hired by the organization's board of directors when it initiated the youth programming three years ago, he said.

Now the facility works with children from West Frederick Middle School, the Frederick office of the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services, the Heather Ridge School, Antietam Academy in Hagerstown, and the Southwest Baltimore Charter School. They are working on establishing relationships with Monocacy Elementary School, Tuscarora High School and a state youth corrections facility, he said.

During the school year, small groups of young people who are deemed at-risk by their facilities are bused to the retreat anywhere from once a week to once a month. They engage in special lesson plans designed by Prudden and other program workers.

Some of the groups concentrate on literacy while others focus on character building or conflict resolution. The scenic woods, streams and fields around ThorpeWood are used in some of the lesson plan activities, Prudden said.

Erika Brockman, executive director of the Southwest Baltimore Charter School and a member of ThorpeWood's board of directors, said groups of about a dozen students from the school have been traveling to Thurmont for a reading prevention program for the past three years.

"It may be that they need to be inspired to love reading, it may be that they need help with certain reading skills," she said.

Students come to ThorpeWood about six times over the course of the school year to participate in an activity — like fishing or horseback riding — and then spend the following weeks in the classroom reading texts that relate to their experience.

"The idea is to ignite their curiosity ... make them eager to want to read more about this experience that they've had," she said.

"I think ThorpeWood really expands children's horizons. ... It gives them a chance to interact with each other in an environment that's really different from what they're accustomed to, gives them a chance to experience nature and peacefulness," she added. "That's really special."

Jan Welty, a guidance counselor at Carroll Manor Elementary School and board of directors member, worked in a conflict resolution program with a group of young women from Antietam Academy, she said.

It's good for students to get outside of a school setting and learn "in a really serene and non-judgmental environment," she said. Between that and the "tailor made curriculum," the ThorpeWood programs are "very powerful," she added.

Gina Staley, a science teacher at West Frederick Middle School and another board member, agreed. The program for children at the middle school targets "kids who show promise in certain areas but don't necessarily thrive in a school environment," she said.

Activities from nature journaling to starring in a pretend cooking show "force [the kids] to go out of their comfort zone," she said.

"People trust and know what they see with their eyes," Prudden said, referring to the weddings and retreats that the lodge is well known for. But, at ThorpeWood, it's the things going on behind the scenes that "are so important," he added.

E-mail Courtney Pomeroy at cpomeroy@gazette.net.