What we call camperships began in 1890 as “Outings for Old Men” to provide a week or more of rest in the country for “self-respecting, self-supporting sober” men who were tired out.
Like most of Lend A Hand – including the Book Mission which also began in 1890 – those outings evolved into providing vacations and convalescent care and eventually what we know as camperships providing camp experiences for low-income, urban kids with and providing child care and/or respite for their parents. A policy statement on campership grants said:
The policy is to help meet a need for a particular child and/or parent and to enable the child to have (1) an educational/growth experience, (2) to receive a required service for day care, and (3) to provide respite, training or other required time for the parent(s) away from the child.
Initially funds for camperships were tied to bequests given for that purpose and held in a special fund. The highest figure for camperships recorded since 1972 was in 1989 and was $36,263; the lowest figure was in 2005 at $3,700. There has been lots of fluctuation in between because of the changes in income from the special fund and changing board support. Now the program is funded through the budget process.
Camperships are a small portion of Lend A Hand’s grant-making. But as we learn from reports from the agencies, for the individuals and their families, they can be transformative.
Written by: Nancy Inui, former LAH president