About Meriden Community Camp
🌟 Our Mission & Vision
At Meriden Community Camp, our mission is built on inclusion and enrichment.
We are dedicated to providing a safe, fun, and enriching summer experience for every elementary and middle school-aged child in our community, regardless of socioeconomic status. Every child is welcome here.
As a small day camp, we utilize our beautiful campus and the local landscapes of New Hampshire to create a unique and inclusive environment, focusing on fun, engaging activities and fostering a sense of adventure for all campers.
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📣 Important Details
- Registration Status: Please stay tuned for more details regarding the upcoming season.
- Program Note: Meriden Community Camp is part of our Youth Outreach Program and is not a licensed childcare facility.
Everyone has a story, so do we...
In 2003, now over two decades ago, the Meriden Community Camp was initiated by a dedicated group of parents, educators, and community members in the Plainfield, NH area who saw a need for an affordable and local summer camp option for children in the Plainfield/Cornish region. To solve this, the Meriden Congregational Church generously offered to house the program at its facilities, which are ideally situated in the middle of Meriden Village. This central location, close to Kimball Union Academy and the local elementary school, provides everything the camp needs: several acres of outdoor play space, a large hall, meeting rooms, and a full kitchen. This space continues a long tradition of community use, including once housing Plainfield’s preschool in the 1980s, underscoring its role as a vital resource for our small towns.
Our camp holds a truly special place in the hearts of our community. Families look forward to the old-fashioned, home-grown camp experience we offer, which values outdoor play, positive mentoring, and educational values like problem-solving, teamwork, and consistency. We guide our campers to make good choices, structuring all of our "rules" around two simple, powerful tenets: Be Kind and Be Safe. This philosophy is upheld by our incredible staff; many counselors are former campers who return to provide the same experience they once loved. In fact, many of our summer staff are local teachers or college students pursuing degrees in education, ensuring high-quality modeling and support for every child.
The day-to-day administration of Meriden Community Camp is capably overseen by our Director since 2023, Rosa Sousa. Rosa is a dedicated educator who teaches Social Studies and Spanish in Cornish. Originally an immigrant from Brazil, Rosa was educated in the public schools of Fall River, MA, and holds a Bachelor's Degree from Bridgewater State College, as well as a Master's Degree from Providence College. Her leadership ensures the camp runs smoothly and reflects high educational values.