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.
BOSTON (The Boston Globe) – Sitting near the shore on a bucolic Boston Harbor island, 17-year-old Lereca Rodrigues thought back to when a cousin was shot last year in an inexplicable act of violence.
“He didn’t have that camp, or that support from somebody else behind him, or family to keep him off the streets,” the high school student from Dorchester said.
Rodrigues, however, has that support: Camp Harbor View on Long Island, which she has attended since she was 11. She was among 100 former campers who have returned to become leaders in training, spending the summer learning how to mentor the next generation of Boston youths in civic engagement and community action.
BOSTON (WBZ-TV) – They are city kids learning real life business skills, while making money for college. It’s happening on Hannah Farm, on Long Island in Boston Harbor.
The innovative program is preparing young people for the future, and making fresh, local food available in Boston neighborhoods.
Every day kids from Camp Harbor View work the one-acre field of Hannah Farm, helping plant, grow and harvest.
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BOSTON (The Boston Globe) – In the midst of serene Boston Harbor, the sounds from one vessel punctuated the waters as 450 young passengers, many with tear-stained cheeks, made emotional farewells.
They sobbed, cheered, laughed, and shouted. They made bold declarations — “I’m going to miss you guys!” one camper announced into a can of Pringles converted into a megaphone — and vowed to stay in touch as the Provincetown II sailed away from Long Island on Thursday.
What could justify such varied, frenzied emotions?
It was the last day of summer camp.
BOSTON (The Boston Globe) – CAMP HARBOR VIEW is beginning our 11th season this week. In the past 10 years, we have learned a lot about operating Camp Harbor View. We know that we need 20,000 gallons of drinking water and 8,000 hot dogs for each summer session, and that we can expect to teach about 50 kids to swim for the first time in their lives.
BOSTON (WBZ Radio) – Each month, WBZ Cares highlights a worthy non-profit organization and tells the story of what that organization does for the community.
This month, WBZ Cares is focusing on Camp Harbor View, a summer camp on Boston’s Long Island that provides underserved youth in the city with unique experiences meant to build confidence and broaden horizons.
Although founded a decade ago, the camp’s inspiration started from a childhood memory of Jack Connors, a retired businessman.
BOSTON (The Boston Globe) – Even before the bus pulled up on Olney Street in Dorchester that morning nine summers ago and Jamal Grant climbed aboard with his younger brother, he had tears rolling down his cheeks.
“I didn’t want to go,’’ he said. “I didn’t want to go at all. I was crying. First year. First day. First session. I was literally crying on the bus.’’