Giving To Sacred Heart Summer Camp And The Mid-Hudson Valley Camp

The Mid-Hudson Valley Camp is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that serves disadvantaged, disabled and under-served children and adults.  Each week of the summer a different group spends a week at the camp.  There is a week for children with cancer, a week for deaf children, multiple weeks for special needs children with Down's Syndrome and autism, a week for special needs adults, and there are separate weeks for children from the South Bronx and Upper-Manhattan.  The camps are staffed by volunteers.  The Marist Brothers subsidize a substantial portion of the cost of the camps, but in the end, each camp relies on the generosity of individual donors to make ends meet.

The children who attend Sacred Heart Camp come primarily from the South Bronx, which is located in one of the poorest Congressional District's in the United States.  We do not have a corporate sponsor.  Instead, we rely on grassroots fundraising efforts each year with the goal of being able to invite between 90 and 100 campers and 65 and 85 volunteers to attend our week of summer camp.

If you are interested in helping our children attend summer camp this year, please visit the Mid-Hudson Valley Camp donation portal hosted by the MBCE, or send a check made payable to the "Mid-Hudson Valley Camp" to:

Jason Jurgens
℅ Jones Day
250 Vesey Street
New York, NY 10281
A donation in any amount would be greatly appreciated.  If you are not sure what your donation can make possible, please consider the following:
  • $1000 is the cost for one of the school buses to help get campers to Esopus.
  • $750 is the cost of a night out roller skating for the campers and volunteers.
  • $500 is approximateley the cost to cover lifeguards at the pool for a week.
  • $250 is approximately the unsubsidized cost for a camper to attend our camp.
  • $150 covers the cost of one volunteer to work at camp for a week.
  • $50 is the cost of arts-and-crafts supplies for one of our groups of campers. 
  • $25 is the cost of S'mores for our camp fire.   
While you are considering whether to make a donation, we encourage you to take a look at a short presentation prepared during the summer of 2013 by two of our senior counselors - Allison Brennan and Marissa Ramirez Zweiger.  The presentation uses pictures, video clips and testimonials to capture the six-year journey of a group of young girls from the time they were in third grade through the time they graduated to high school.  The presentation shows in pictures and words what so many of you have helped make possible over the years with your contributions.  We hope the joy, laughter and smiles warm your hearts.  We also hope the testimonials demonstrate why summer camp is not a “luxury” for many children – it’s an eye-opening experience that can broaden horizons, build self-esteem and change lives. 

The presentation can be found on Drop Box.

If that was not enough -- Danny Pena -- one of our Sacred Heart campers who is now a senior staff member -- makes a video at camp each year that we show to the campers on Saturday before we head home.  Danny uses video, pictures and words to capture the raw and unadulterated fun that so many of our generous donors have made possible.  A recent example of his work can be found by clicking here.  

Thank you for your consideration.