Boston, MA - April 26, 2018 -
The Summer Fund
, a donor collaborative at
Associated Grant Makers
, is pleased to have been awarded a $600,000 grant from the
Liberty Mutual Foundation
to support its
Homeless Campership Fund
(HCF). The mission of the Summer Fund is to ensure that underserved children and youth in the Greater Boston area have access to a wide variety of affordable, high-quality camp-based recreational and learning opportunities, by providing resources for operational support, capacity building and professional development.
Launched by the Summer Fund in 1988, the Homeless Campership Fund (HCF) supports families that are facing housing insecurities by providing camp subsidies (or camperships) for homeless youth. Through its collaboration with shelters and transitional agencies, the Summer Fund is able to reach the most vulnerable youth in need of summer programming. The HCF then leverages the Summer Fund's network of high-quality camps to provide safe and fun enrichment activities at no cost to the youth and their families.
"Liberty Mutual's ongoing support of the Homeless Campership Fund allows the Summer Fund to continue providing Greater Boston's most vulnerable youth with critical summer enrichment experiences" explains Sean Higgins, the Summer Fund's Program Manager. "This increased investment will bolster our capacity to subsidize summer camp for youth experiencing housing instability and will foster deeper engagement with our shelter and camp partners."
This donation comes after two years of successful implementation and operation of HCF programs supported by an initial investment of $570,000 from the Liberty Mutual Foundation. With these funds, the Summer Fund has worked with 25 homeless shelters and summer camps to provide enrichment experiences to over 400 homeless youth each of the past two summers.
"The Homeless Campership Initiative provides a fun and engaging summer camp experience for vulnerable youth in our community. It's an experience that they might not otherwise have, and Liberty Mutual Insurance and our foundation are grateful for the opportunity to support this program," stated Melissa MacDonnell, President of Liberty Mutual Foundation and Vice President of Liberty Mutual Insurance. "By partnering with Associated Grant Makers and making this grant, we're once again offering exciting camp opportunities that decrease summer learning loss for hundreds of children and youth experiencing homelessness in Greater Boston."
