MIGRANT CHILDREN Many hundreds of children of migrant families live in New Hampshire and Vermont. In this case we are not speaking of children from other countries, but rather local children whose families must move frequently to follow low-income agricultural jobs and other seasonal employment. Many of these families move several times a year. As a result, children in these households rarely have a chance to put down roots in any one community. For this reason they have been called by researchers Vermont's "hidden population." The transient lifestyle of these families is extremely disruptive to their children's education and leads to high illiteracy and dropout rates. CLiF serves a portion of this population through its partnership with Camp Exclamation Point (CAMP!), a non-profit educational and charitable institution that offers a weeklong camp, free of charge, to 110 children of local migrant families. CLiF's partnership with CAMP! began in 2004, and every summer we provide the campers with the following forms of support: Books for Children to Keep: CLiF offers a wide range of new books to the campers, and each child is able to select some new books to keep. For many of these children, the books represent their entire personal collection. Resident Storyteller: Each year, a CLiF representative acts as the CAMP! resident storyteller, spinning tales under trees during the day and around campfires at night. Special Storytelling Evening: On one evening during the week, CLiF arranges to have professional storytellers come to camp and tell stories to all the campers. On-site Library: CLiF has donated a library of new, high-quality hardcover children's books to CAMP! for the children to use during their stay each year. (During the rest of the year the books are used by children in the small local library in the neighboring town of Post Mills, Vermont.) Of CLiF's sponsorship of CAMP! in 2006, Program Director David Rosenburg observed: "It was exciting for me as a teacher to see all the campers so excited about the new books.. . The storytelling was also a natural accompaniment to the books. All of the storytellers captured the kids' imaginations. CLiF has been a great addition to CAMP!" You can also view other comments from individuals who have received a sponsorship.