Camp Fair to be held at Bangor Civic Center

BANGOR – The United Way of Eastern Maine’s Camp Fair will be held 4-7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 9, at the Bangor Civic Center. The event is free and the public is invited.

Families with children in grades three through six, enrolled in the Bangor public school system, are encouraged to attend to learn more about the Camp Bangor program.

Camp Bangor offers Bangor public school pupils in grades three to six a $1,000 scholarship to attend the Maine summer camp or camps of their choice after meeting good citizenship guidelines and volunteering in the community.

The United Way of Eastern Maine, which administers the Libra summer camp scholarship program, has put together a 2005 Camp Directory, which has information on more than 145 camp programs across the state of Maine. These directories will be distributed through school classrooms to third- through sixth-graders in Bangor public schools the week of Feb. 7.

Additional copies will be available to the public after Feb. 7 and may be picked up at the United Way office at 24 Springer Drive, and at the Bangor Public Library’s Children Department. An online directory is available at www.unitedwayem.org.

“Camp Bangor was a great success last year. We would like to have even more Bangor public school students involved this year. The camp fair gives the students and their families the opportunity to see what types of camps are available and start thinking about what they need to do to receive a scholarship,” said Jeff Wahlstrom, executive director of United Way of Eastern Maine. “We have over 90 camp programs registered to attend the fair, offering sports, arts, environmental studies, faith-based, traditional camp activities and more.”

The United Way’s Camp Bangor program is funded by the Libra Foundation, a private foundation established by the late philanthropist Elizabeth B. Noyce. The program is in its sixth year in Bangor, fifth year in Portland and seventh year in Lewiston. The city of Bangor is sponsoring Camp Bangor T-shirts for every eligible child, as well as co-sponsoring the camp fair.