Press Releases

Together with the Urban League of Springfield, Inc.’s President and CEO Henry Thomas, III, Congressman Richard E. Neal, Chair of the House Committee on Ways and Means announced a $450,000 earmark for the Urban League’s Camp Atwater located on Lake Lashaway in North Brookfield, Massachusetts.

The allocation was made possible through Congressional Directed Spending (CDS) from the Departments of Housing and Urban Development. Congressman Neal included funding for this project in the Fiscal Year 2022 spending bill that was signed into law earlier this year.

“Right here in the First Congressional District of Massachusetts, we are so lucky to have Camp Atwater, the oldest African American camp in the country and the only camp listed on the National Register of Historic Places,” said Congressman Neal. “Under the leadership of Henry Thomas, the camp continues to grow and fulfill its mission of providing a safe space for our youth to grow academically and socially. I look forward to seeing the transformation of Camp Atwater with these funds.”

"Thank you to our Congressman Richie Neal for bringing home these funds to support the development of our youth in Springfield and beyond,” said Thomas. “This earmark will go a long way in ensuring that Camp Atwater can continue to provide programs for young men and women for generations to come. Since its founding in 1921, Camp Atwater has served nearly 60,000 youth. We look forward to continuing to serve many, many more.”

As Camp Atwater looks toward its second century of service to the community, the Urban League of Springfield will put these funds toward their capital and endowment campaign that seeks to modernize and revitalize the Camp’s physical facilities and grounds. Long term, the campaign will enable Camp Atwater to expand the number of youths served each year and be open year-round. Short term, the project will provide significant upgrades to key camp buildings – including the camper cabins, bathhouse, infirmary building, and staff accommodations.

Under guidelines issued by the Senate and House Appropriations Committees, members of Congress requested Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) funding for projects in their state for Fiscal Year 2022. CDS requests were restricted to a limited number of federal funding streams, and only state and local governments and eligible non-profit entities were permitted to receive CDS funding.

This project is one of ten CDS projects that were submitted by Congressman Neal, totaling over $9 million in investments throughout the First Congressional District of Massachusetts.

More information on Camp Atwater can be found HERE.

##