CAMP CEDAR CARES
For many years Camp Cedar has been a leader in community service, as the importance of giving back is a strong part of the value system that permeates the Cedar culture. Our community service program at camp includes campers of all age groups and we talk about the good works that we undertake as a camp community. We provide ongoing support to the Portland Soup Kitchen which serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner to over 300 people every day.
Four times each week, we send small groups of our 13, 14 and 15 year olds into Portland resulting in each camper having the chance to volunteer once or twice over the course of the summer. Our youngest campers decorate and frost cupcakes and cakes that the older boys then bring to the Portland soup kitchens. We also support Camp Sunshine, a local camp for children with terminal diseases. Campers have volunteered to work with playgroups, assist with light maintenance and even helped build the largest sandcastle in the world which raised $25,000 for children with cancer.
Also unique to Cedar is the award-nominated Harlem Lacrosse program which provides underprivileged inner-city kids with a four-day camp experience run by Cedar staff following Father-Son weekend. Over the years, other programs we support include trail repair and clean up in the White Mountains, providing meals and general yard work to local older residents, collecting and organizing food for the food pantry in Portland and a staff blood drive for the American Red Cross. As the boys participate in these worthwhile programs they come to better appreciate what they have, they learn empathy towards others and their participation helps them to be a part of something bigger than themselves.