MKN Cares
“Giving back” is one of the most important values we try to instill in our campers. The environment MKN creates is one in which our boys learn a strong sense of community, where the gestures of openhandedness is encouraged within and to others. Sharing the gift of camp and helping those in need is a long tradition held at Camp Mah-Kee-Nac, and we are proud to be a part of the following causes:
Sea Stars North
Camp Sea Stars North is a trauma-informed summer camp opportunity for the children of the Newton/Sandy Hook community. The goal of the camp is to help the kids of Newtown heal from the tragic events at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 12, 2014. Mah-Kee-Nac staff volunteer their time to work as bunk staff, program instructors and special event planners to make this experience possible.
America’s Camp
In the aftermath of the attacks of 9/11, a group of Camp Directors, Mah-Kee-Nac’s own Danny Metzger, Danbee’s Jay Toporoff (a Mah-Kee-Nac alum) and Jed Dorfman of Camp Walt Whitman, struggled to find an appropriate way to give back. After much talk, this group finally decided to do what they knew best…offer a camp experience like no other to the children of 9/11. With the support of CampGroup, The Twin Towers Fund, Tuesday’s Children and the Mayor’s office of NYC, the directors convinced 68 affected families to send their children to America’s Camp, at Camp Mah-Kee-Nac. The camp staffed by the best counselors and staff of a number of camps, including Camp Mah-Kee-Nac made for an experience that “you had to be there to get.” America’s Camp ran for ten summers.
Camp Mah-Kee-Nac is proud to have been one of the host sites for this transformative camp.
S.C.O.P.E
Summer Camp Opportunities Provide Education is a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide children from underserved communities life-changing opportunities through the experience of summer camp. S.C.O.P.E gives the gift of camp to children who commit to staying in school, by funding camp scholarships to non-profit resident camps throughout the country.