BY KATHY CHANG
Staff Writer
EDISON — Construction of a much needed new health center at Kiddie Keep Well may soon start if the summer sleep-away camp can raise $25,000 through the end of October.
The camp has provided free sleep-away summer camp for deserving Middlesex County children for more than 90 years.
An anonymous donor recently pledged a $25,000 match. If the camp can raise $25,000 from June 1 through the end of October, the donor will match it with $25,000.
“We are so grateful to this donor, and to all those who have donated in the past,” said Tom Tighe, president of the camp’s Board of Directors. “We’re hoping to appeal to everyone in Middlesex County to help us reach this goal. This new building will serve generations of Middlesex County kids.”
In 2013, camp administrators began fundraising efforts to bring the health center into the new millennium.
Last summer, the camp pushed fundraising efforts with its “Raise the Roof” capital campaign.
In all, the camp has raised $90,000 toward its goal of $150,000.
The proposed new health center would provide a better flow, with a larger waiting area on a porch to allow the nurses to see campers in a more efficient and private manner; separate boys and girls sleeping quarters with doors for children who have to stay overnight; and an isolation area.
It will also have upgraded sleeping quarters for the nurses and a file storage room in the basement.
Kiddie Keep Well Camp, located at 35 Roosevelt Drive in Roosevelt Park, has grown to serve more than 600 children ages 7-15 and seniors each year and more than 50,000 youth since its origin. The summer camp can accommodate 150 children at a time and offers 11-day sessions during the summer.
The camp initially was built as a Fresh Air Fund camp in 1924 and is one of the oldest in the nation.
To donate or for more information, visit www.kiddiekeepwell.org or call 732-548-6542.