Camp Howe

Camp Howe is an inclusive recreational camp located in Goshen, Massachusetts that supports a wide variety of special needs to its youth. Through their Echo Program, Camp Howe is a legacy partner of the National Inclusion Project and has been awarded the prestigious Eleanor P. Eels Award for Program Excellence from The American Camp Association twice. In February, Camp Howe was featured in the Boston Globe Magazine in a story on local camps that support the ever-expanding diversity of children’s individual needs. Boston Tutoring Services recently reached out to the camp and had the opportunity to speak with an officer.

In establishing your camp, what were the goals/mission statement for providing student growth?

Camp Howe, Inc. provides an early experience outside of the family home for youth aged 7-17. The program encompasses all aspects of the campers experience and focuses in offering age-appropriate programs aimed at increasing self-esteem, leadership, independence, and education on preserving and protecting the environment.

The mission of Camp Howe is to offer high-quality, accredited, educational, and recreational camping program and facilities to all youth and adults in a formative experience, which helps to prepare them with basic life skills. This includes teamwork, leadership, decision making, resource management, self-awareness, coping, and communicating and relating to others.

What sets you apart from other camps that offer services for students with similar needs?

Camp Howe stands apart from other camps by its commitment to inclusion. It is the Camp Howe philosophy of valuing each individual which provides life-changing experiences.

Camp Howe goes beyond the realm of teaching skills such as kicking a soccer ball, learning a new swim stroke, or making a masterpiece in arts and crafts. We excel at having each child learn to accept themselves just as they are – strengths and weakness – and build their confidence and esteem, so that helps them build on these strengths and weaknesses alike. Learning to genuinely value those around them and appreciate them “just as they are” gives them confidence to break outside their own social comfort zone and engage in meaningful interactions with individuals very different from themselves, both in and outside of camp, to open up a new world for them. We believe that camp is more than summer child care, but rather it is a community that helps make the greater world a better place through understanding, acceptance, and appreciation of the barriers that typically exist.

Our strongest asset is the community that has been established, one that is accepting of differences in others. This forms the basis of all that we do and forms a community that truly embraces and values the differences in each other. In a community of this kind, true life lessons can be experienced, learned, practiced, and understood. In this environment youth have the freedom to explore their own personal biases, self-concepts and social pressures, and the opportunity to make life-effecting changes. We are committed to building on the community created to establish a more accepting environment. We believe that by being an inclusive environment, all members of the community must be active in its success.

What would you like parents to know about the benefits of having their child attend your camp?

We know that a successful and memorable stay at Camp Howe involves a great deal of effort and thought on your part. We strive to maintain the highest standards of a traditional co-ed Massachusetts camp. The intent of the program is to make sure that every camper is comfortable and happy with his or her achievements and limitations.

You can learn more about Camp Howe on their website and Like them on Facebook.