Much-Needed Renovations Complete At Bedford's Camp Foster

BEDFORD, NH — After completion of much needed renovations, the Boys & Girls Club of Manchester is getting ready to welcome hundreds of kids to Bedford's Camp Foster for its summer program. On Wednesday, the camp welcomed 200 supporters at the unveiling of the recent facility upgrades, made possible through the club's More Kids, Brighter Futures campaign. The newly expanded and renovated facilities await kids for the camp's summer program, which starts July 8.

According to the Boys & Girls Club, Camp Foster welcomes more than 400 area kids for its summer programs during the weekdays of summer school vacation. The kids keep themselves busy through team building, education, making new friends, boating, arts and crafts, swimming, sports and leadership development. Many of the participating kids come from cities, and the camp allows them to expand their experiences by spending time in the natural outdoors.

The newly unveiled renovations at Camp Foster have expanded the use of the 20-acre Bedford property and created new spaces for enriching programming, according to the Boys & Girls Club. Some notable infrastructure upgrades included replacing the main hall, the pool house, activity cabins and lunch pavilions, as well as rebuilding the playground, adding basketball courts and significantly controlling the erosion, the club stated.

Camp Foster was in dire need of renovation, according to the Boys & Girls Club. Before this week's unveiling, the camp's facilities and grounds had not been renovated since 1941. Among the significant contributors to the More Kids, Brighter Futures capital campaign was the Stebbins Family. The new main hall at Camp Foster is dedicated to the family.

"We are so grateful for the generous donors and corporate partners who have helped us achieve the successes so far during the More Kids, Brighter Futures campaign," said Diane Fitzpatrick, CEO of Boys & Girls Club of Manchester. "We were thrilled for an opportunity to share our progress towards the goal of serving more kids and are excited to witness our community rise to the challenge in helping us prepare to serve more kids in the upcoming school year. With each investment in the Club and our kids, we can help a child find a path to a brighter future and this investment really benefits us all."

The More Kids, Brighter Futures campaign has raised about $5.2 million so far, allowing the Boys & Girls Club to serve more kids in the Manchester area, the club stated. This week's celebration at Camp Foster has also marked the beginning of the campaign's final phase and remaining goal to raise $650,000 to complete an expansion of the Union Street Clubhouse in Manchester. According to the Boys & Girls Club, this final phase will enable the club to serve 6,000 kids a year, which would increase the programming capacity by 28 percent.

Camp Foster provides summer programs for kids coming into grades 2 through 8. The summer programs at the camp begin July 8 and registration is now open.