GUILFORD — The Guilford Free Library's 10th anniversary “Send A Kid to Camp” raffle is underway.
Community support of the library through the raffle over the past nine years has raised almost $17,000 and has helped to make summer camp a possibility for hundreds of local kids who might otherwise have missed out on the experience.
Tickets are $10 each and the prize is a $200 gift certificate to T. J. Buckley's restaurant in Brattleboro.
“Keeping our kids active and engaged in the summer is so important,” Guilford Librarian Cathi Wilken said in a news release. “The cost of camp makes it out of reach for many families. Our camps are free for Guilford residents and only $50 for nonresidents. They give kids the opportunity to join their friends and have a good time right in their own town.”
Wilken said that community support through the annual raffle “allows the library to continue offering fun and exciting experiences year after year.”
The theme for this year is “Telling Our Stories” for four separate camps: grades Kindergarten through third grade; second grade through fifth grade; fourth grade through sixth grade; and fifth grade through eighth grade, traditionally called “Stage and Stream.”
According to a news release, campers enjoy their time at the library and in the beautiful surrounding outdoors. Camper Eliza Frehsee, 9, has loved going to the library camp for the past four years.
“Camp is very welcoming and fun. You never get bored and you learn a lot,” she said in the release.
Last summer, Eliza attended the robotics camp and she and a friend ended up building two robots. “We learned how to build and program them,” she explained.
Frehsee also attended the Stage and Stream camp. “I liked acting out all the emotions - sad, happy, mad, grumpy.” In addition, she and three other campers wrote and got to present an original skit.