Camp Harbor View announced a new three-year partnership with Biogen and the Biogen Foundation to promote the wellbeing of more than 200 Boston families by helping address social determinants of health through increased food security, more equitable access to clinical mental health resources, post-secondary education, and career development pathways.
The Biogen Foundation’s support will bolster Camp Harbor View’s Family Health Initiative, a holistic approach to youth development that empowers Boston’s next generation leaders and furthers positive economic, social and health outcomes. This funding will make it possible for Camp Harbor View to connect teens and their families to greater food security, one-to-one clinical health services, social-emotional learning, and skill building and career development opportunities. As part of this relationship, participants also have the opportunity to explore the field of life sciences by visiting Biogen’s CoLab, a community space offering life science training from employees and leading local educators. The Biogen Foundation’s commitment will also establish and fund annual Biogen Scholars, awarding three graduating high school seniors with $40,000 scholarships to pursue their post-secondary plans.
“We are grateful for Biogen’s leadership on key health equity initiatives. Social emotional learning, clinical support, and food security are essential wraparound support that promote economic and social mobility,” Camp Harbor View CEO Sharon McNally said. “Partnering with, and trusting in, Boston families, this is a meaningful investment in the next generation.”
“Biogen believes that everyone deserves access to a supportive ecosystem that enables them to live the healthiest, fullest life possible,” Biogen Vice President of Asset Development and Portfolio Management and the Chair of the Biogen Foundation’s Board of Directors Teresa Cachero said. “This partnership with Camp Harbor View reflects our credo of caring deeply, and it will enable us to provide assistance in many aspects of a family’s life, from social to health.”
The partnership, inclusive of Biogen sponsorship for events, will total $500,000.
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About Camp Harbor View: Established in 2007, Camp Harbor View (CHV) is a youth-centered, multi-service organization with year-round programs that address the long-term wellbeing and economic mobility of underserved Boston youth and their families. Our shared vision is an inclusive, equitable Boston where every young person and family has the opportunity and resources to succeed. To pursue this vision, we offer free, high-quality summer camp and year-round programs, nurturing deep relationships and empowering a thriving community of future leaders and their families. Additional information is available at www.campharborview.org.
About Biogen Foundation: Established in 2002, the Biogen Foundation seeks to advance better health by collaborating with high-impact partners in local communities. Through the Foundation, we strive to make an impact beyond our medicines, focusing our grantmaking on equitable access to healthcare by strengthening health systems and providing access to nutritious food, a critical social determinant of health. For more information, please visit: www.biogen.com/company/biogen-foundation.
BOSTON (The Boston Globe) — Nobody says good morning like Chazz Guerra says good morning.
“G-O-O-D M-O-R-N-I-N-G,” Guerra half sang, half shouted into a bullhorn in front of the Great Hall. There are few things Guerra, a 25-year-old camp counselor, likes more than The First Day of Camp.
More than 200 Camp Harbor View middle schoolers were assembled in front of him on the sports fields, wilting in the hot and humid conditions around 9 a.m. on Monday — a tough crowd.
Camp Harbor View is a free summer camp for Boston middle schoolers on the southern end of Long Island in Boston Harbor. The Great Hall is the mess hall in the center of camp, with the ferry dock, sports fields, and high-ropes course to the north and the pool and arts pavilion to the south.
BOSTON (Boston 25 News) — Camp Harbor View is the brainchild of former Boston Mayor Tom Menino and Boston businessman Jack Connors, who wanted to find a use for the then-untouched land on Long Island. The idea was just to engage middle-schoolers during summer months. But whether it’s learning to sail, fish, climb a rock wall or learn a new sport, the free summer camp has become so much more to the city’s young people over the last 15 years.
Our Executive Director, Lisa Fortenberry, recently sat down with Jenny Johnson on Comcast Newsmakers to discuss the unforgettable summer ahead for CHV campers and why, now more than ever, the joys of just being a kid at camp can be a life-changing experience for middle schoolers emerging from pandemic isolation.
BOSTON (The Boston Globe) – Cities aren’t the only proponents of giving no-strings-attached cash to people in need. Here come the nonprofits.
The national movement, which had its local roots in Chelsea and spread to Cambridge, aims to empower low-income households with monthly stipends and settle an age-old debate about whether we can trust poor people with money instead of having them constantly jump through hoops to receive aid.
Advocates of so-called guaranteed income programs believe that low-income households know best how to lift themselves out of poverty rather than being told what to do. It’s that combination of confidence and cash that can help people move up the economic ladder.
At least three local nonprofits have launched pilots in recent months: Camp Harbor View with 50 families that are receiving $583 a month for two years; United South End Settlements with 16 families that are getting $800 a month for 18 months; and UpTogether — in partnership with the Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance, Harvard Business School, and others — has embarked on a research project providing nearly 1,500 families with varying amounts of money and social capital over 18 months.
BOSTON (CBS) – A popular Boston summer camp is working hard to provide summer fun, even though it can’t open in the traditional sense this year. The staff of Camp Harbor View on Boston’s Long Island spent Wednesday making special ‘summer engagement kits’ for would-be campers.
BOSTON (CBS) – Boston’s Camp Harbor View is a summer camp for kids who may not otherwise have the chance to have a special summer. Camp Harbor View is in its 13th year helping kids thrive. And this camp is about much more than just having fun.
BOSTON (The Boston Globe) – Sporting pink reflective sunglasses that matched her bright lipstick, Lisa Fortenberry clapped and yelled “Day one, baby!”
In front of her, campers exited their buses in single file Monday. Some tried to keep a cool countenance — one even kept his arms crossed as he strode along — but the staff’s energetic welcome was tough to resist. When the teenager thought no one was looking, he let a smile cross his face.
The campers were headed for a boat that would take them to Camp Harbor View, where a high-ropes course cuts the skyline, orange flags line a scenic boardwalk onto the island, and waves crash against the rocky waterline next to the basketball and tennis courts.
Jack Connors was a founding partner of Boston marketing firm Hill Holliday, but it’s his work in his “retirement years” as chairman of the nonprofit Camp Harbor View that he’s more excited to talk about these days.
BOSTON (CBS) – It was a summer camp surprise like no other when Big Papi visited Camp Harbor View, inspiring and encouraging the young people there. The camp works with at-risk kids from Boston’s inner-city neighborhoods. The message David Ortiz brought was perfect.
The kids roared their welcome for the former Red Sox slugger. They had no idea he would visit the camp on Long Island in Boston Harbor Thursday.
