Cambridge Camping Association551

Cambridge Camping Association is a social service agency committed to enabling any child who wants to go to camp to do so. They take particular care to ensure that low-income, minority, at-risk, and other traditionally excluded children are afforded the opportunity of access to a summer camping experience. CCA services and programs respond to changing community and family needs, and include residential, day and school year camp opportunities. The Cambridge Camping Association was formed in 1893 when several families in West Upton, MA invited 14 children to spend a week as guests on their farms. Cambridge Camping assisted families with arranging such "fresh air" retreats and over the years it expanded to include referrals to camps for children, collaborations with camps to provide summer fun, and a scholarship program to make overnight camping accessible to needy children. In 1968, responding to the increasing costs of day camps for families, Cambridge Camping opened the Inner City Day Camp for Cambridge Residents. In 1993 the camp was renamed through a camper contest to Cambridge Adventure Day Camp. Daybreak Day Camp began in 1990 to address the need for a program for children with emotional and behavioral difficulties.