Our Director
Thank goodness for helping hands…
Camp Director, Camper #13804 Matt Storey
Last Spring, 6 weeks before the first camper arrived, we had a landslide behind MacLean and Cub Alley that forced us to take 5 cabins (Burr, Poly, Adirondack, Ross and Danielson) offline for the 127th season. We huddled the team and devised a plan to be able to open camp on time for all those enrolled. The entire time our friends and neighbors from the local community, many of whom had their own weather challenges, expressed their concern and a genuine willingness to help. Contractors dropped everything to arrive on the scene and help stabilize the shoreline and to assemble our temporary yurt housing. Our own staff worked harder than ever to ensure we were ready to provide another best ever summer. It was a total team effort and, as a result, the boys had a ball!
During the summer our campers and leaders helped beyond the Dudley gates. During the pre-season training, 50+ leaders helped our friends at the Westport Marina clean up after being ravished by the record flooding that occurred locally. Dozens of campers visited our partners at the local organic farm where they harvested, weeded and readied produce for market. That same farmer became the largest local vendor for Camp bringing us fresh grown vegetables all summer long. He also reused all of our cooking oil to run his tractor and heat his greenhouses. After Hurricane Irene came through and devastated a neighboring town, our staff brought food and supplies to that town’s firehouse for several meals. All of our unused food at the end of camp went to the school cafeteria to help offset their food costs.
I would love for our campers to do even more on campus to make things run smoothly and to gain appreciation for the hard work that goes into making the place so special. Outside of camp during the season, I’d like to expand our efforts of our young leaders and find meaningful ways to help others in need or who are less fortunate. During the off-season and as campers grow older, I would like to continue to hear ways in which Dudleyites embrace the motto and are helping others in the world.
We are an incredibly fortunate community. I continue to be amazed by the Dudley community as I am frequently asked by parents, alumni, staff, neighbors and frieds “what can I do to give back?”. We are fortunate enough to be in a community, both locally and within the Dudley Family, where people are thinking about helping others. I like to believe that our motto, “the other fellow first” creates an environment where people want to help others, and that our campers are taking their understanding of the motto beyond the Dudley campus. When really pressed on this question, I generally answer in the following way:
You can:
- Introduce Camp Dudley to someone you think might love a summer on Lake Champlain and send them our way for a visit, to an open house across the country or to our website to gain more information.
- Come to campus and help during a work weekend – Spring and Fall, Westport and Colchester, as we need all the help we can get!
- Offer to help a young Alum or recent college graduate get their feet wet in the “real world” by acting as a mentor or opening a door for them.
- Contribute to our annual fund that helps offset the true cost of a Dudley summer and brings over 225 campers to Dudley who would not have otherwise been able to experience a life-changing Dudley summer.
- Get involved with alumni events, come to the CDA Reunion, inquire about the Board of Managers and or participate in a board committee.
- Inquire about our Alumni work week at Dudley and get a real taste for what is happening on our campus today.
I know we can each do more, and I am often inspired by the stories of others doing good. Let’s keep up the good work, but never stop asking how we can help.
I’d love to hear from you any time either at the Dudley office (518) 962-4720 or via email at matt@campdudley.org.
Respectfully,
Matt, #13804
Director, Camp Dudley
