Founded in the 1880s by Congregationalist ministers and for decades a feeder for New England’s toniest prep schools, Camp Dudley is steeped in its own, unique traditions. Among them, it may be surprising to learn, is a pioneering, prevenient commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.
In 2019, the boys’ camp, which is located on Lake Champlain in the Essex County town of Westport, launched a program with SUNY Potsdam and the Adirondack Diversity Initiative that reaffirms that commitment.
Called the Alternative Spring Break, the program offers urban students enrolled in upstate universities a chance to become immersed in the natural world of the Adirondacks.
“We were told by many students that they get sold on the Adirondacks, on its waterways and topography, but when they get here, they don’t see any of that,” said Tiffany Rea-Fisher, the executive director of the Adirondack Diversity Initiative (ADI). “They don’t come with cars, they have no idea where these elusive trailheads are to be found and how they would get to them.”
That uncomfortable realization fed discussions between Clifton Harcum, the director of SUNY Potsdam’s Center of Diversity, and Matt Storey, Camp Dudley’s current director. Those conversations, in turn, led to the Alternative Spring Break.
Read the full article in the Lake George Mirror.
Photo by Clifton Harcum