“I will never forget picking Aidan up at camp,” recalls Marian Fontana, about her then eight-year-old son. “He ran across the lawn, into my arms, and said, ‘Mom, it was the best week of my life.’ ”
It was August, 2004, and Aidan had just finished his first experience at America’s Camp, a one-week sleep-away camp in Lenox, Massachusetts. He spent a week on the playing fields, in the shops, and in and out of the pool and lake. He had also shared a cabin for a week with a group of boys his age. But age wasn’t the only thing they had in common. First, like Aidan, all of his bunkmates had either lost a parent in the 9/11 attacks or had lost a parent in the line of duty at another time. Second, they were all there to have fun and be kids.
The camp is currently enrolling boys and girls, ages 7-15. The 2006 session begins on August 16. The camp is funded by the America’s Camp Foundation, and is provided free of charge to eligible families.
During this week of sun, and fun, campers can participate in a wide range of activities such as sailing, canoeing, windsurfing and water-skiing on the lake; swimming in a heated pool; and many sports.
“My girls talked all the way home (until they fell asleep in the car) about their adventures,” says Christie Coombs, whose two daughters have attended America’s Camp. “There is no other situation — ever — that makes them feel as special, yet so normal, as America’s Camp does.”
For more information, please contact Andy Cole at 1-800-548-6295 or visit www.americascamp.org.
