PEABODY — U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton dropped in on Camp Eastman at the Torigian Family YMCA on Thursday — telling the assembled kids that it was “super exciting” to see what they were doing.
Moulton was shown through the facility’s campgrounds by Camp Eastman Director Chris Munnell, as well as YMCA Executive Director Kathleen Walsh, and Vice President of Communications and Marketing Sandy St. Louis.
“Each day we have a new core value. So like, today is responsibility,” Munnell explained as he guided Moulton through the wooded terrain. “We have a recipient from each [camp] group, so there’s about 14 of them everyday.”
“Mayor [Edward A.] Bettencourt was here last week and I said, ‘I’d really like to take that field — you’ll see that it’s a pile of dirt — and we should really put turf down so it’s something that makes it usable,’” Walsh said, referencing an area of the campground where the land is still property owned by the city, as opposed to the camp. “It’s functional but it’s not fabulous, and these kids deserve fabulous.”
After touring the grounds, Moulton spoke at a community luncheon that occurred at the facility’s pool.
“To all the adults here, who support these kids, these kids are our future,” Moulton told the crowd. “So, when you’re frustrated with what’s happening in Washington, when you’re frustrated with what’s happening in your neighborhood, when you think that this country can do a little better — and I think everyone of us believes that — we’ve got to invest in these kids, because they’re the future of America.”
Walsh said the YMCA is a “community asset.”
“One of the things that we stand behind is that we don’t turn anyone away for inability to pay,” Walsh said.
Last year, the Torigian Family YMCA gave away $1.1 million in scholarship funds.
Dorothy Irrera can be reached at [email protected].
