Our strategic design focuses our service to Maine children who face economic hardship.
- All children who participate in camp, grade five through high school, are from families or households with an income that would qualify for economic hardship.
- Our service is tuition-free, funded by individuals, businesses, foundations, and community organizations.
- School partners — who are familiar with our program design focused on building confidence, resilience, relationship-building skills, and a sense of belonging in participants — refer students they know.
- We have a network of over 100 school referral partners, representing every county in Maine.
- We are proud — and it is intentional in our design — that 70 percent of our campers return each summer. This is an especially high number given barriers for the population we serve.
- Our program design is trauma informed. Many of our campers do face the range of adverse childhood experiences that can be barriers to development and well-being. Our role is building on factors that counteract risk and that are foundational in the healthy development of all children. Among factors we measure in follow-up surveys with referral partners are things like resilience, relationship-building skills, and respecting oneself and others.
- The camp setting — family-style cabins, community meals, team building activities, and opportunities to try new things — is an asset we leverage. We are focused and skilled in using our outdoor environment to build positive attributes that are durable when our campers return to school and community.
Among experiences specific to different age groups:
GRADES 5 to 7
have a traditional camp experience that includes swim lessons, arts and crafts, and activity areas such as waterfront, sports and games, or science and nature.
GRADES 8 & 9
are in what we call “bridge” camp, with choices that develop their special interests, which can include outdoor pursuits, sports, or visual arts.
GRADES 10-12
have opportunities to pursue different leadership levels related to their goals and post-secondary school preparedness.
ALL AGE GROUPS
bond through nightly-cabin read alouds, learn through fun evening and night sky activities, and receive a book to take home. Each 10-day session begins with team-building activities to foster trust and relationship building among campers.
SINCE OUR CAMP STARTED IN 1974
more than 19,000 Maine children
facing economic hardships have benefitted from a camp mission focused on making a lasting difference in their lives.
