The Greater Waterbury Campership Fund is an independent 5013c organization.
Its funds raised are kept in its own bank accounts and managed by its volunteer directors, who vote on any expenditure. The board follows this mantra: No salaries, no expenses, every penny raised goes to sending local children to summer camp.
Any expenses in support of their mission must be donated, according to the nonprofit’s founding principals.
The Greater Waterbury Campership Fund started in 1969, after predecessors of the current United Way of Greater Waterbury approached the late William J. Pape, editor and publisher of the American and Republican newspapers, about a desire to help more children attend camp.
Pape founded the nonprofit, and the United Way still volunteers to act as a liaison between the Campership Fund and its participating camps.
Contact us: The Campership Fund can be reached through any director; via the Greater Waterbury Campership Fund Facebook page, or by calling secretary Ija Callender at 203-574-3636, ext. 1496, or emailing her at icallender@rep-am.com.
How it works:
The Greater Waterbury Campership Fund receives promotional and other support from the Republican-American newspaper and WATR radio. Other regular supporters include Thomaston Savings Bank, Ion Bank, Post University, MacDermid International and the Waterbury Police Department.
The Campership Fund is not part of the United Way of Greater Waterbury, but it does work in partnership with the United Way, which volunteers its staff to screen applicants for eligibility, to help distribute fliers and applications each spring, and to coordinate between the Campership Fund board and its participating camps.
Which camps participate are a decision of the Campership Fund board.
How to donate: Donations are accepted by cash or check year-round at 389 Meadow St., Waterbury, Conn., 06702 or by credit card on this page.
Schools, community groups, businesses and individuals donate and organizer fundraisers on behalf of the Campership Fund; people also commonly donate in honor or in memory of a family member or loved one. The Campership Fund also annually applies for local grants available, including those from Thomaston Savings Bank and the Connecticut Community Foundation.
Because every penny raised for the Campership Fund must go to tuition, the cost of fundraising events must be donated or paid for by separate sponsors. Money donated for sponsorships is kept in separate accounts from money raised to send children to camp.
To mark its 50th anniversary in 2019, the Campership Fund created a Next 50 account, to which donations can be specified. The Next 50 exists to cover tuition in any year when campers exceed fundraising. This fund can eliminate waiting lists of years past.
How to apply for camp:
Applications are available when the campaign starts each spring and are due by May 10 directly to the camps the child would attend. They can be downloaded from the Campership Facebook page, from rep-am.com, from unitedwaygw.org, or picked up at local schools. Children must live in Bethlehem, Cheshire, Middlebury, Prospect, Southbury, Thomaston, Waterbury, Watertown, Wolcott or Woodbury, and their families must receive SNAP benefits or meet federal poverty guidelines. Children who apply must be at least 5 by June 1.