Capital City Sunrise painting party makes splash at Camp Spaulding

Posted by Anthony Gilmore 
on Sep 5, 2010
 
 Camp Spaulding is run by Child and Family Services of New Hampshire to provide a summer camping experience for kids in Merrimack county who would otherwise go without.
Capital City Rotarians, with prodding and direction from Dick Johnson decided to spruce up the infirmary building that they and Pittsfield Rotary club had adopted. On two Saturdays and a Wednesday in between, Dick and his son and wife Taffy, Larry Phillips, President Jack Prendiville, and Geoff Souther and granddaughter Molly, toiled away scraping, power washing and painting.

The results were certainly worth the effort.

Here is a little history about the camp:

Camp Spaulding was started in 1922 as a YMCA camp for boys. Concord Charity Organization (forerunner of Concord Family Services) petitioned camp that first year requesting that they be allowed to hold a girls' camp following the boys' session to enable young women working in the mills to have some fresh air and recreation as well.  The Charity Organization indicated they would raise all the funds necessary to support the girls session at camp which they did, gathering support from local churches, service and fraternal organizations, that continues to this day.  Given permission to do so, the organization hosted girls at camp every summer, until the YMCA decided that the camp site, an 8-acre plot along the Contoocook River in Penacook,  no longer met their needs. They sold Camp Spaulding to Concord Family Services (forerunner to Child and Family Services) for $1.00. Since 1946, the camp has been run by CFS as a co-ed overnight camp for NH children, whose families  were unable to provide an overnight camping experience for their children, due to inadequate income. A significant number of our campers come from single parent female-headed households with a 2010 average annual income of under $22,000 for a family of four.

There are four  2-week camp sessions every summer. Until 1998, camp was reserved exclusively for children from the Greater Concord and Merrimack County area because that is where the majority of funding came from, including a general allocation from the United Way.  The merger of Concord Family Services and Manchester Family Services to become Child and Family Services of NH and the expansion of the agency throughout the state in the 1970-s – 1990's generated a great deal of interest in expanding camp to serve children throughout NH. Following a major capital campaign which included the purchase of 48 additional acres of land, Camp Spaulding opened its doors to statewide enrollment and increased its ability to serve more children from around the state. From being able to serve 40 children per session (total 160), the camp has doubled its potential capacity to 320 and increased its involvement with service clubs around the state. Between 10 – 20 Rotary Clubs have supported campers from their areas in recent years enabling children from around the state to enjoy two weeks of wonderful, enriching camp activities such as archery, swimming, canoeing, hiking, arts, music, theater, horse back riding, low and high ropes courses and the fulfilling adventure of meeting and living with new people and gaining new insights into their social, cultural and emotional lives.  For boys and girls ages 8 – 14, Camp Spaulding is an incredible opportunity. One that the CFS trustees and staff believe that every child should have---not just those who can afford it.


Thanks to Ruth Zax from the Henniker Rotary Club for this background.