By: centraljersey.com
The Lawrenceville School Camp has received a donation of $200,000 from Lazard Capital Markets as a result of its annual charity day.
For more than a century, the Lawrenceville School Camp, located in Asbury, has provided local under-served children the opportunity to enjoy an all-expenses paid, two week summer experience.
Campers, 10 to 12 years old, are recruited through after-school programs, churches, and neighborhood centers. There are three sessions, two for boys and one for girls, with 30 children in each. Facilities include four cabins for campers and counselors, a lodge for meals and indoor activities, hiking trails, a bath house, basketball court, soccer field, kickball/softball field, and a pond for swimming and fishing.
The camp is a separate nonprofit entity and the school does not fund its activities. It is owned by the Lawrenceville School Camp board of trustees, comprised of the head master, students, faculty, and staff.
Although the School does offer some logistical support, the Camp’s operating budget is supported through Lawrenceville student fundraising initiatives and donations from alumni and parents.
The Lazard donation will be used for several capital improvements to the camp, most notably renovations to the camp pond. The camp kitchen will be expanded and all of the cabin bunks will be replaced.
"We are extraordinarily grateful to Lazard Capital Markets, particularly to Director Bill Burchfield, who presented the application to the company, for their generosity," said Lawrenceville School Director of Outdoor Programs Marshall Nicoloff, who also serves as camp director. "Without the funds to dredge the pond and reinforce the support berm, we were in danger of having to cancel camp next summer. Thanks to Lazard Capital Markets, we’ll have a beautiful new pond in 2012."
Lawrenceville School students serve as counselors and are unpaid volunteers who instead receive credit for community service. Typically, there is one counselor for every two campers.
Being a camp counselor is often a family affair, with generations of Lawrenceville students serving and learning from, the campers. Mr. Burchfield, a 1974 Lawrenceville graduate, was a counselor as was his son, Will, a member of The Lawrenceville School Class of 2007.
"My Lawrenceville education provided me with many great experiences, but few were as valuable as my time at the School Camp. I am delighted to have been in a position to help the Camp," said Mr. Burchfield.
Lazard Capital Markets provides research, sales & trading, and underwriting in the areas of equity, fixed income, and convertible securities. As a separate entity, Lazard Capital Markets maintains a business alliance agreement with Lazard Group for the continuation of certain historical relationships. Pursuant to such business alliance, clients are offered tailored advice, strategies, and solutions to corporations and governments worldwide to facilitate their access to public and private capital.
The Lawrenceville School is a coeducational, independent school for grades 9-12 located on 700 acres in Lawrenceville with an enrollment of 812 boarding and day students who come from 32 states and 32 countries. The school is celebrating its 200th anniversary this year. For additional information, visit www.lawrenceville.org.

