2021

Annual Report

Welcome

“Camp Harbor View brings people together. Over the last 15 years, it’s been a privilege to watch this community grow from summer days on Long Island into a continuous partnership with families throughout the year.”

Jack Connors, Jr. Co-founder & Chairman

Letter from Our Leadership

Dear friends,

It is indisputable that 2021 was a challenging year for all of us. The persistence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the difficulties it brought was enervating and required that we tap into reserves of energy and strength that were sometimes hard to locate. However, it was more than ever essential that we work in partnership to support the youth and families of the Camp Harbor View community, so we challenged ourselves to adapt and evolve.

Out of hardship came real strength. We stretched our collective imagination to connect in deeper and more meaningful ways with the kids with whom we work. We listened harder, and we asked ourselves difficult questions as to the impact of our programs. The resulting focus has led us to stronger ties with our community, more meaningful work with partner organizations, and a determination to work toward economic stability and mobility for the families who count on us.

We intend to forever provide a fun, safe, and healthy summer camp experience for 1000 middle-school age Boston youth each year, and to make a deeper investment in the teens who choose to continue on as members of our Leadership Academy. Our ability to provide Leadership Academy participants with grade- and developmentally-specific programming; meaningful personal relationships to one another and to caring staff; scholarship assistance for post-secondary education and a sense of community has never been more important. So too, our investment in a guaranteed income pilot project for 50 families, along with other forms of financial and emotional support for families, signifies our commitment to fostering equity and opportunity.

None of what we do would be possible without the generous support of you, our champions, donors, and community partners who provide us with the resources to identify and operationalize solutions to address long-lived barriers to equity. Thank you for your belief in and support of our work.

Sharon McNally

President

Lisa Fortenberry

Executive Director

Serving the Whole Family

Meet Lereca, Bryan, Gyara, and their mom, Paula. They’ve been part of the CHV community for over a decade — and their story shows how powerful we can be together when we invest in Boston families.

SUMMER CAMP

Back in the Harbor Islands!

Aquatics

Arts

Knowledge is Power icon of a space rocket

Knowledge is Power Sports icon of a spinning basketball

Sports & Fitness Leadership icon of a person at podium

Leadership

Click the icons to learn more about each camp program area.

Welcoming campers, Leaders in Training, and staff back to the island filled us with joy. With smaller groups, more time outdoors, and significant safety precautions in place, hundreds of young Bostonians experienced the excitement, challenges, and possibilities of camp in 2021.

Our team worked hard to ensure a safe and fun summer for all participants; we took extensive action to protect campers, teens, and staff – including reduced camp capacity, increased hand washing, daily symptom checks, community-wide testing, and a mandatory mask policy – and it paid off.

To cap off an incredible summer season, Camp Harbor View’s summer program concluded a year-long evaluation and became accredited with the American Camp Association. In addition, the ACA recognized our summer program, along with four other summer programs across the United States, with the Eleanor P. Eells Award for Program Excellence.

97%

campers who tell us they’ve learned something new at camp

10:1

camper to staff ratio

More Summer 2021 Moments

Recognized in 2021 as one of the best programs in Boston for building youth voice and choice into the program, as measured by end of summer surveys taken by young people.

icon of the Plympton Street building on purple gradient background

LEADERSHIP ACADEMY

Thinking Big with Boston Teens

Recognizing the importance of continued connection, our year-round leadership development programs continued with high school students – both in person and online. Facing a second year of school and social disruptions from the pandemic, our team’s continued support and partnership with young people proved even more essential.

From post-secondary planning and career exploration to healthy relationships and building social emotional skills, both the 9th grade RISE (Realizing Interests through Support and Exploration) and 10th-12th grade Leader in Training programs emphasized continued support and partnership with young people.

In 2021, in partnership with Boston Afterschool and Beyond, we introduced a skill-based badge system in our Leader in Training program continuing to emphasize and recognize critical thinking, perseverance, teamwork, and communication.

Photo of Taliyah Olson staging outside wearing purple t-shirt in front of orange Camp Harbor View sign

Meet Taliyah

Taliyah Olson, Digital Leadership

As President of CHV’s Digital Leadership program, Taliyah Olson leads the team of 11th- and 12th-graders behind the BIPOCxTalk Instagram account. In Digital Leadership, teen Leaders in Training hone their skills using technology to raise awareness and drive action issues they care about — from making videos to hosting online events to reaching thousands through social media.

A senior at Brooke High School in Dorchester, Olson has been a part of the Camp Harbor View community since she started camp at 11 years old. She credits CHV with helping to develop her leadership skills — and also introducing her to some of her best friends.

“CHV taught me to step outside of my shell and to grow as a leader,” she said. “Being a leader is about helping other people achieve a goal — it’s all about relationships and community. And that’s where CHV focuses. It’s about being in community with a broad group of different people, and about finding what we have in common and what we can achieve together.”

“As a Black woman, I’m passionate about centering Black lives in everything we do,” she said. “This group decided that lifting up BIPOC voices would be our focus, and we have learned a lot. Technology is always evolving, and I know that the tech and communication skills we practice in Digital Leadership will be really helpful as I head to college and beyond.”

100%

teens who report building positive relationships with adults and peers at CHV

$295K

total amount awarded in stipends to 2021 LIT program participants

Three camp staff members in their college gear for college day at the island

What comes after high school?

A core component of the Leadership Academy program works with teens to answer this question. Our scholarship program, established in 2014, helps make their thoughtful planning a reality. Graduating LITs pursuing a bachelor, associate, technical, or trade school post-secondary education are eligible to apply for renewable two-year awards to put toward tuition.

icon of a family in a house on purple gradient background

FAMILY SERVICES

Building Connections and Community

Relationships and trust built over time are a core piece of our partnership with young people and families. It’s many small connections and conversations that form the basis of our CHV community. Through the pandemic, our work with families has deepened and grown. While we continued to offer engaging parent events and provide community resource coordination, two initiatives took center stage in our family services work in 2021 – the guaranteed income pilot and holiday assistance program.

Meet Stephanie

Stephanie Hyde, Guaranteed Income Program Manager

As the manager of CHV’s Guaranteed Income Program, Stephanie Hyde brings energy and innovative thinking to our partnerships with families. The two-year pilot, launched in collaboration with UpTogether in August 2021, is an opportunity to directly impact the social and economic mobility of Boston families while also contributing to the growing body of national research on guaranteed income.

Working closely with the fifty families enrolled in the pilot (who each receive $583 in unrestricted cash monthly), Stephanie is focused on building relationships, fostering community, and serving as a resource as participants work toward their goals. With over a decade of experience providing direct services to youth and families in the most underserved communities in Boston, she comes to the role with deep knowledge of the issues they face.

“I’ve seen first-hand many of the ways we can support a family in need, but, if we are looking to make the biggest impact, it really boils down to access to funds,” she said. “This program is a meaningful opportunity to close economic opportunity gaps and give those who need it a way to relieve financial stressors, meet their goals, and improve their quality of life.”

Passionate about building community and inspired by the successes of families with whom she and her team work closely, she’s excited to launch a parent council in 2022 to bring participant voices and ideas in to steer program direction. “Families often have a plan but do not have the means to execute it,” she said. “Guaranteed Income is a vehicle for participants to change their economic status and potentially impact their family for generations to come.”

$406K

funds supporting food assistance and access for Boston families

415

families supported at the holidays

Making Spirits Bright

Watch our 2021 holiday assistance program take shape with the support of the community.

icon of hands raised on purple gradient background

SUPPORTERS

Time, Talent, and Treasure

This meaningful work with Boston’s young people and their families would not be possible without our community of supporters who dedicate time, hard work, and donations to Camp Harbor View’s mission.

2021 Donor Listing

From career panels and resume workshops with Leaders in Training to readying the island after a year away and packing gifts at the holidays, the dedication and commitment of volunteers in our community was unmatched. Look through just a few of the projects taken on by volunteers this year in support of young people and families.