When longtime INN supporter Chris Ackerly, introduced The INN to Agassiz Village, a sleepaway summer camp in Poland, Maine whose mission is to prepare kids for life’s journey, INN staff members knew it was the perfect place to try and send some of the children who live in our temporary housing shelter the Edna Moran INN for a priceless summer experience. The camp often welcomes children from underserved communities. In fact, 25% of the children who visit Agassiz Village come from shelters or the foster care system.
But there were a series of steps and players that had to come together to make it happen. Some of the parents in the shelter were hesitant to send their children away to camp for two weeks out of state. Many of them had never been separated for a long period of time. With the right information and guidance from The INN’s shelter staff, ultimately, eight children from ages seven to 10-years-old, including two sets of siblings were signed up to go to sleepaway camp for the first time ever. Once that was confirmed, the logistics and arrangements had to be put into place.
First, there was a call out to INN supporters online to help support the project. Since INN supporters are always so generous and eager to help, nearly $6,000 was raised within a few days. With these funds, INN staff were able to purchase all the camp gear that the children needed; summer clothes, bathing suits, towels, sneakers, sleeping bags, and suitcases for all eight children.
Although the children were outfitted for camp, there was still the matter of transportation. Staff researched private buses, train schedules and all options for travel for all the children and chaperones to get them to and from Portland, Maine. Then Cynthia Sucich, Chief Development and Programs Officer for The INN remembered a relationship with Air Charter Service, an aircraft charter company that has been sending volunteers and various donations to the soup kitchen. Once they were aware the children needed help with transportation, they offered to coordinate and donate round-trip commercial flights as well as ground transportation to and from the camp for the children and their chaperones. Richard Thompson, President of the company said, “when Air Charter Service heard The INN needed transportation to send children living in shelters to summer camp, we immediately knew we wanted to help. We are honored to have been able to donate the funds for air travel and coordinate the flights for the children and their chaperones to ensure their journey getting to and from this incredible experience was seamless.”
On travel day, a large Sprinter van picked up the group and they began their journey, many of the children excited to get on a plane for the very first time. Once at the camp, the children enjoyed a host of summer fun activities, including archery, swimming, and pizza, (some of their favorites), as well as banana boating, trampoline, sports and theatre, complete with a camp talent show. Once everyone was home, both the parents and the children were thrilled with the experience and are excited for another opportunity to go back to camp next summer. Mirna Perrin, Co-Manager of the Edna Moran INN who accompanied the children on the plane ride there has heard lots of positive feedback. “This made an incredible impact on the families living in the shelter.”
Lisa Carter, Executive Director of the camp said, “we wanted the children from The INN to have a full summer camp experience. Our goal for all our campers is for them to collaborate, explore, have fun and thrive. We want them to see all the opportunities available to them, and let kids be kids, have fun and hopefully return again as campers and maybe someday employed as camp counselors and mentors.”
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