Children in the inner city are not bonding with nature because of the overwhelming human conditions that they are forced to endure throughout their young lives. Camp Hale offers an alternative reality and gives disadvantaged boys and girls an outlet and opportunity for physical education and social interaction that they could never imagine while living in the city.
This is something our members all understand. We understand it because we have a personal interest in Camp Hale and a personal story to tell about how Camp has impacted our lives. For many of us, our fathers went to Camp Hale. Some of us have grandfathers and great-grandfathers who experienced Camp Hale; and many of the programs and traditions practiced today, go all the way back to our very first summer in 1900.
Camp Hale is a program of United South End Settlements, Boston, MA and was founded 118 years ago in the summer of 1900 on Squam Lake in New Hampshire.
The Camp Hale Alumni Association, (CHAA) was founded in 1925. This version of CHAA did not have an incorporated status. In 1952, a second alumni group, named The Camp Hale Council, Inc. (CHC), and made up of younger former campers was founded; and in 1987 the two groups merged to form The Camp Hale Alumni Association, Inc. an entirely volunteer, tax-exempt 501(C)(3) organization with its sole purpose being to preserve, protect, and enhance the Camp Hale experience.
After spending a summer on the shores of Squam Lake, climbing the local mountains, boating, canoeing and playing softball and tug of war against the towns people of Center Sandwich New Hampshire, the undesirable influences, the constant exposure, the conditioning and acceptance of public squalor offered up to our children under the guise of normality, doesn’t quite look the same anymore. Camp Halers return to the city a little wiser, a lot stronger, and with a perspective of the world and its people that they clearly would not have acquired walking the hot city streets for a summer.
CHAA’s efforts to see Camp Hale continue for another 118 years include holding fundraisers, sponsoring campers, donating needed assets, staying in touch with the present-day camp activities and developing an endowment fund to support Camp for generations to come. Every year members of our alumni association volunteer their time to camp related activities. These activities include our successful “Work Weekend”, where CHAA members converge on Camp for a weekend of prep work that includes preparing the waterfront, opening up the cabins, and repairing any of mother nature's winter wear and tear.
Our primary focus is to first provide funding and support for Camp needs that are not covered under the general operating budget. This includes for example, new boats, cabin repair, new construction, camper scholarships and property maintenance.
We invite you to join us in our extraordinary commitment to impact the lives of our children who in turn bring positive change back to their communities. Your contribution will allow more children participate in a program that we expect will encourage them to give back much more to their future generations just as the generations of past campers have given to us.
Respectfully,
The Camp Hale Alumni Association, Inc.
Christopher Attles
President