Exceptional Citizens' Week

Floor Speech

Ms. AYOTTE. Madam President, I wish to recognize and congratulate the leadership and volunteers of New Hampshire's Exceptional Citizens', EC, Week at Camp Fatima as the program marks its 60th year of providing continuous service to children and adult campers with special needs.

Held every year at Camp Fatima on the picturesque Upper Suncook Lake in Gilmanton Iron Works, EC Week is a non-sectarian outdoor camp program sponsored by the Catholic Diocese of Manchester. Attendance, which is free for campers, is funded by generous contributions from individuals and businesses. During EC Week, campers have the opportunity to participate in a variety of traditional camping activities, giving them a chance to enjoy the great outdoors and have some good old-fashioned summer fun.

Borne of the idea that ``it would be great to allow these children the same camping experience as other kids,'' Bill Haller, president of The United Life and father of a child with Down syndrome; Dr. Tom Walker, a pediatrician at St. Paul's School; and the Rev. Richard O. Boner, associate pastor at St. John's Parish in Concord, who founded Camp Fatima for Boys, began work on this concept, starting EC Week in 1954.

As they set out to create an entertaining and rewarding camp experience, the program founders teamed up with student nurses from Sacred Heart Hospital in Manchester, a group of Sisters of Mercy, a group of Sisters of St. Francis, and seminarians from St. John's Seminary, in preparation for the camp's launch. The first year 25 boys and girls attended the camp.

Since that first year, EC Week has grown immensely and now includes 170 campers and more than 300 volunteers from around the country. It is a unique and special experience that is treasured by so many, and has served as a model for the creation of similar camps around the country.

As we celebrate the 60th anniversary of EC Week next month, I want to commend the Diocese of Manchester and the EC Week staff and volunteers. Their hard work and dedication has brightened the lives of thousands of campers and allowed them to have exciting experiences they otherwise may never get to enjoy. I have no doubt this outstanding program will continue to benefit and delight campers for generations to come.

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