Cambridge Camping Association

CONTACT:

99 Bishop Allen Drive
Cambridge, MA 02139
617-864-0960

Syrl Silberman, Executive Director

DESCRIPTION:

In the summer of 1893, at the invitation of rural families in West Upton, the Cambridge East End Union chose 14 children to spend a week in the country, on farms. That experiment grew; by 1898 they had 100 children and by 1903 it was known as “Country Week,” with 13 towns participating. Today it is Cambridge Camping Association for at-risk, low-income, minority and marginalized children from Greater Boston. One of its six programs is Cambridge Adventure Day Camp (CADC), founded in 1968 in response to racial conflicts and originally located under the Harvard stadium bleachers; since 1997 it operates at a rented elementary school in Belmont, with 4 sessions over 7 weeks, for 202 children from 155 families. Its scholarship budget is $200,000; 80% of the campers live at or below poverty level, 75% are in single parent households and come for all 7 weeks, 35% speak English as a second language, 10% are open DSS cases, and 3% live in homeless shelters; only 21% are Caucasian. Campers do a lot — swimming, music, drama, arts and crafts, cooking classes, chess lessons, sports, community farming and more. Some of the counselors are from CAA’s Teen Apprenticeship Program begun in 1992, which provides 6-month training for 16-20 teens, mostly former campers. This works, and it needs your help — surprise them.

(2004: HUMAN SERVICES: Children and Youth: Sports and Summer)