Coordinates: 43°50′20″N 70°27′18″W / 43.839°N 70.455°W / 43.839; -70.455

Center Day Camp

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Center Day Camp
Map
TypeDrive-in day camp
Location74 Hackett Road, North Windham, Maine 04062, United States
Coordinates43°50′20″N 70°27′18″W / 43.839°N 70.455°W / 43.839; -70.455
Created1949; 75 years ago (1949)
Operated byJewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine
Websitewww.mainejewish.org

Center Day Camp (CDC) is a day camp run by the Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that coordinates, promotes, and supports the Jewish philanthropic, benevolent, educational, and communal activities in Southern Maine.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] It is located in North Windham, Maine, on the shores of Sebago Lake.[8][9][10]

Program

The camp is co-ed.[11][12] Campers range from 3 to 15 years old. CDC provides a traditional Maine summer camp experience for campers on the wooded shores of Lake Sebago. Twenty minutes from Portland, Maine, CDC sits on 27 acres (110,000 m2) of woods, fields, and shoreline.[13] Generations of campers have spent their days at the camp's lake and learned new skills at the camp. CDC accepts campers of all faiths and backgrounds. CDC is accredited by the American Camping Association.[14]

Center Day Camp also has a counselor-in-training (CIT) program whose participants assist staff with group participation, activities, and lesson planning, developing skills to become future counselors.

Founding

Norman Godfrey, a leader in Portland's Jewish community, recognized that few families could afford to send their children to sleep-away camp during the summer, so he decided to start a summer day camp. Godfrey wanted to open the summer camp on Peaks Island, but he died of leukemia in January 1947 before taking his idea to fruition. Others in Portland's Jewish community continued Godfrey's idea in order to make it happen. The summer camp was established, albeit operating in temporary locations. The first location was in Deering Oaks Park in Portland, and it later operated Sebago Lake State Park. It had about 50 campers. The camp was non-sectarian, although most, but not all, of the campers were Jewish. In 1949, Portland's Jewish community took out a loan of $9,500 (equivalent to $122,000 in 2023) in order to buy 12 acres (5 ha) on Sebago Lake as a permanent home for the camp. The loan was formally secured by six volunteers, but ultimately 140 families donated in order to pay back the loan over the next three years. The camp was dedicated to the memory of Godfrey.[15][11]

References

  1. ^ "Form 990: Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax". Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine. Internal Revenue Service. August 31, 2019.
  2. ^ "Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine". Tax Exempt Organization Search. Internal Revenue Service. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  3. ^ Douglas Wright (June 16, 2006). "New fields complete vision of Center Day Camp, thanks to dedicated sponsors". Lakes Region Weekly. Archived from the original on April 15, 2014. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
  4. ^ "Center Day Camp". Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
  5. ^ Maine Register, State Year-book and Legislative Manual – Maine. Tower Publishing Company. 1990. ISBN 9780894421136. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
  6. ^ The Big Green Internship Book: Internships and Summer Jobs for the Environment. Career Education Institute. 2001. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
  7. ^ ) Public Library, Portland (Me (1956). Annual Report – Portland (Me.) Public Library. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
  8. ^ Abraham J. Peck (2007). Maine's Jewish Heritage. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9781439634578. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
  9. ^ Beth Quimby (March 16, 2010). "As enrollment holds, camps embrace small economies; Camps still fun, if frugal". The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram. Archived from the original on April 15, 2014. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
  10. ^ "Jewish Campers to Honor Famed National Figures at Camp Today". Portland Press Herald, Page 25. July 18, 1949. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
  11. ^ a b Down East, Volume 51, Issues 9–12. Down East Enterprise. 2005. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
  12. ^ "Bibliographies of Camp-related Research". American Camp Association. Archived from the original on April 15, 2014. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
  13. ^ "Maine Day Camps" (PDF). acanewengland.org. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
  14. ^ "American Camp Association". Acacamps.org. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
  15. ^ Nacelewicz, Tess (July 12, 2003). "Camp memories turn to gold: Center Day Camp far exceeds its fund-raising goal, and will celebrate with a re-dedication ceremony". Portland Press Herald (Portland, Maine). p. 1B.

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