July 15, 2026 Breakfast Meeting Notes
Our guest today was Peter Saliba of Camp Mayhew.
Sharon won the 50/50.
Walter got the chance to draw for the ace of spades but selected the 7 of clubs.
Hey did you know…Tomorrow, Thursday we have a candidate for town manager coming at 5 PM at the library. This is your chance to ask questions.
George, Alex, and Steve are going to Moab, Utah this weekend. They will visit 3 Rotary clubs while they are there. Mountain Mermaid is now open, as is the Tractor Shed in Holderness. The new yoga studio is open, as is the new bookstore, in the old Plymouth Furniture building. There is also community space in the building.
Ben shared a cookie: He presented Lora with a Paul Harris pin for donating over $1000 to the Rotary Foundation. Congratulations!
We inducted two new members: Michael Bellerose and Ari Roy. Welcome!
Announcements: Next Wednesday there will be an evening meeting in lieu of the morning meeting. It will be at the Sunset Grill at 6 pm. Cruise Night is the 29th. Board meeting this Friday morning.
We will present the check for the Comfort Kits to Sydney Whitehouse when she is working at the hospital.
Remember the 100 acts of service! These acts help to inspire, share, and elevate us.
Lora introduced Peter Saliba, executive director of Camp Mayhew. Mayhew is a summer camp for boys, with year-round mentoring. It started in 1893 on Squam Lake on Groton Island as a project of the Groton School; it is currently located on a 35 acre parcel in Bristol. It is the only such camp in New Hampshire.
Since getting nonprofit status in 1969, Mayhew has worked with more than 2400 boys from all over the state of New Hampshire. All of the boys have multiple factors that place them at great risk for being trapped in a cycle of poverty.
Mayhew’s mission is to work with deserving New Hampshire boys. All are at the poverty line and all have risk factors, such as having an incarcerated parent, drug or substance abuse in the family, homelessness, etc. Mayhew challenges and helps deserving NH boys to believe in themselves, work well with others, and find their best.
Boys are more likely to be at risk than girls; they are more likely to be expelled from school, to commit suicide, and wind up in poverty. Mayhew works closely with and shares resources with the Circle Program.
How the program works: every elementary school counselor knows about Mayhew, and they refer boys that meet their qualifications. The Mayhew staff meet with the boys and decide who will be able to participate. Boys are admitted between the ages of 9 and 11 and the program goes until age 18. No older boys are admitted to the group if they have not started at this young age. They can only serve about 1/3 of the boys who apply.
About 60% of the boys are from an urban or suburban environment. 40% of their boys will make it all the way to the end of the program. They can lose boys because of economic reasons, if the family finances improve; sometimes they lose a boy because they disappear out of state, change guardianships, etc. Finally they sometimes get a bad match…a boy just does not fit the program and is a detriment to other boys. The boys from different areas sometimes form fast friendships, but not always. Note that students are not allowed to have their phones on the island.
The program starts with a summer residential experience on the island in the first 2 years. They boys spend 3 weeks at camp, surrounded by 30 adults and 41 other boys. They have to bring 3 pairs of underwear and a bathing suit, but everything else is provided for them. At camp boys are taught the core values of responsibility, respect, community, and challenge.
In summers 3-6, the boys participate in a wilderness experience. This includes camping, hiking, rafting, fishing. During the final 2 years the boys to for weekend trips to the island and also hiking around the area. After summer is over, Mayhew counselors meet with the boys at least once a month for the rest of the year in their home towns. They have 7 outreach workers throughout the state, each of whom is responsible for about 30 boys. They find out if the boys have issues with food, housing, or other problems.
91% of Mayhew boys graduate from high school (the statute average is 67%). The program also support boys post high school, with some financial support, up until age 26. 80% of the boys and their families report feeling more confident and positive as a result of the experience.
Peter has been executive director for 2 years and has been working on a new strategic plan. First, the board of directors want to ensure that they maintain the quality of the program. Second, they want to spread the word, as Mayhew is not well known outside of the lakes region. They are working on donor expansion and taking on a national role. The goal is not for Mayhew to go nationwide, but to serve as a resource and information source for other groups that might want to get such a camp started in their area. The goal is to believe in boys so that they have the confidence to believe in themselves, and there is no other program in the country that is doing this.
Third the board is working on outstanding governance. Finally, Mayhew would like to increase the quantity of boys served. They have had the same enrollment since 1979. They are hoping to grow Mayhew by 30 boys. They received a $1,000,000 donation that is the anchor for a $2.6 million campaign, expanding their 6 cabins to serve 9 instead of 7 boys. They hope to reduce attrition of boys to get the total up to 30 more. $2 million of the campaign goes into their endowment. They want to hire an outreach worker for Claremont, as it is the poorest city in the state They also need to expand the septic and greywater system.
If we go on Mayhew.org, we can arrange for a tour of the island. They have 3 weeks until camp closes for the year.
Denise still needs people to help sell 50/50 raffle tickets for Cruise Night.
Happy dollars were shared by Mike B, Mike C, Dan, and Denise.
Dan is as trail adopter Cedarbrook Trail in the White Mountains. He wanted to remind us that our national forests belong to all of us, and they are at risk right now. If you would like to advocate for public lands, now is the time to do it.
Respectfully submitted,
Lora Miller, secretary
