Camp Alvernia

Camp Alvernia is a non-profit recreational summer camp in Centerport, New York on the North Shore of Long Island. The camp is located on the east shore of Centerport Harbor, on the Little Neck peninsula. It was founded in 1888 by the Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn, who still run the facility now, over 120 years later. Alvernia was the first, and is now the oldest Catholic camp in continuous operation in the United States.

Contents

• Camp alvernia 2016 video
• Camp alvernia from above
• References

Camp Alvernia is currently a day camp that serves 800-900 children ages 3 to 14 from all religious backgrounds, and also continues to serve as a retreat for the Franciscan Brothers. The Camp offers boating and sailing activities, land and field activities, and swimming in four pools. Scholarships are also awarded each year to families in serious financial need.

Originally built as a summer retreat for Franciscan brothers, the 18-acre (73,000 m²) facility later became a residential camp for immigrant children living in New York City, who slept in tents until cabins were built in the 1930-40s. It was originally named "Mount Alvernia" after the mountain in Italy where Francis of Assisi is said to have received stigmata. Funding for the camp was raised by redeeming Kirkman Soap wrappers, each having a value of two cents.

Camp Alvernia was founded as a residential camp for boys, and after 100 summers started accepting girls and added a day camp program as well. Boys and girls, ages 5–18, could go for either 3 or 6 week periods of time. (Later changed to 2, 4, 6, or 8 week sessions) Girls traditionally stayed in the dorms, one room for younger girls, one room for older girls. Boys stayed in cabins with names such as Nest, Den, Bayview, Shady Rest, Stagecoach, and Seaside. At the time of its 100th anniversary, it was run as a simultaneous residential and day camp. Residential students would be awoken by a reveille over the campus wide loudspeaker, meet for breakfast, and then break into their day camp groups, as the day campers would be bused in from local Long Island towns. Keeping with the camp's theme and location, the day camp named its various age groups after tribes of the Iroquois nation. The youngest campers were called the Oneidas, followed by the Mohawk, Huron, Cayuga and the Seneca. The same names are used to this day, although the age groups they refer to have changed. Cayugas are boys and girls who completed pre-k and kindergarten prior to the start of camp, Oneidas are 1st and 2nd graders, Mohawks are 3rd and 4th graders, Hurons are 5th and 6th graders, and Senecas are 7th-9th graders. In 2016, the camp began accepting three year olds in a new age group called the Pequots.

Camp activities included traditional arts and crafts and swimming, but also had full sized basketball courts, tennis courts and playing fields. Its specialty was boating, especially windsurfing. Campers would have boating, led by the famous Brother Louie, and could canoe, kayak, sail or go on the larger sailboats for a ride. There would also be excursions to the local roller skating rink, museums and nearby beaches.

In the summer of 2000, Camp Alvernia developed a course called "Leadership Skills in Community Youth Recreation." The course was based in part on the camp's annual pre-camp orientation program, and participating camp counselors earn college credit. The Love of Learning Montessori method school moved to the grounds of Camp Alvernia in September 2004.

In the 1990s, many of the camp's records were thrown out, having suffered water damage. In 2010, the camp began a concerted effort to reconnect with former campers and counselors.

In 2012, the camp built two new pools to provide additional space for recreational and instructional swim programs. The camp also conducts a greatly expanded boating program, with paddle boats, canoes, kayaks, stand up paddleboards (SUPs), and sailboats. The camp also offers a sailing certification program through US Sailing.

Camp Alvernia's website is www.campalvernia.org.