generously agreed. With that one child, who continued as a scholarship camper and went on to become a counselor at Lenox, Focus For a Future was created. From that simple beginning, Focus For a Future has grown to include eighty-two camps that provided scholarships for 243 campers this past summer, valuing a total of $1,653,925. The value of all the tuition scholarships received since its inception has now reached a total of $5,639,540. The Board In the fall of 2003, Focus For a Future became a nonprofit organization. One of Jack’s first tasks was to create the board of directors. He gathered together a board that consisted primarily of his former Scarsdale High School basketball players who were now successful businessmen. Today the board is made up of seven former players, three parents of former players, and three Scarsdale residents. They were selected for their passion for helping less advantaged children and for their personal understanding of the life lessons learned in a camp community. Those board members who can support Focus For a Future financially do so generously. Additional fundraising is done through yearly mailings to people who know Jack and believe in the work he is doing. These donations allow scholarship campers to feel comfortable at camp by supplying them with the items they need. If a camper requires supplies or equipment for camp — before or after camp has started — the board allows for the purchasing of those items. The goal is to make the campers feel that they are no different from any other camper. The Selection Process From the beginning, Jack’s hope for Focus For a Future was to replicate the model that he initiated at Camp Lenox by calling camp owners and asking them to donate a scholarship for an underserved child. To ensure the program’s success, Jack called upon his twenty-three years of experience as a former teacher and coach in Westchester County, New York, and asked educators he knew to help identify a very special child in their school to fill open camp spaces. The success of the program — for both the camp and the campers — was clearly going to be determined by the children that were chosen. Therefore, Jack and his wife, Paula, developed a set of criteria that would help the educators select those children who were truly ready to benefit from a camp experience. This process eased the minds of those first, remarkable camp owners who agreed to donate open camp spots. These criteria are still in place today. Educators always make their decisions for camper scholarship recipients based on the following: • The child has excellent behavior, makes a good effort in the classroom, and demonstrates the ability to get along with children and adults from all backgrounds. • The educators themselves would be happy to have the child as a guest in their own home, with their own children, for a weekend visit. Camper Success The first phone call Jack made to find out how the campers were adjusting is unforgettable. “Henry” was the name of the child placed at Camp Pontiac. Jack made the call and asked, for the first time but certainly not the last, “How is my camper doing?” When the phone call ended, his joy and relief was clear. Director Mark Sklar had said, “We love Henry!” This is the type of response that Focus For a Future continues to hear every year from many different camp owners and directors . . . but the first time will never be forgotten. Henry went on to spend five summers at Pontiac. Brant Lake’s first scholarship camper is presently, according to Rich Gersten, one of the children’s favorite counselors. From that simple beginning, Focus For a Future has grown to include eighty-two camps that provided scholarships for 243 campers this past summer, valuing a total of $1,653,925.
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