The St. Joseph Valley Grotto (SJVG) was formed to promote, organize, and educate people in the South Bend and greater Michiana area with an interest in caves and caving. The grotto was first conceived in the spring of 1997; that July we received our charter to become an Internal Organization (IO) of the National Speleological Society (NSS). In the short time that we have been in existence we have gained over one hundred members, taken on several ambitious survey projects, and have become one of the most active grottos in Indiana. The grotto has quarterly meetings usually at a members house in the Elkhart area. The grotto also organizes monthly grotto trips intended to give anyone interested in caves an opportunity to experience the underground wilderness we love so much. Members of the grotto are active in conservation, photography, cartography, and the exploration of caves. The membership of the grotto is composed of a wide range of experience levels, from novices to cavers that have been across the United States and around the world in search of all types of caves.