October 2, 1996
Dear Mr. Chester:
In attempting to respond to your letter dated September 16, 1996, let me begin by expressing, both personally and on behalf of the Boys & Girls Clubs, my sympathy for the experiences that you describe in your letter. The incidents that you state occurred in the summer of 1961 would be a horrendous experience for any nine-year-old child and certainly could result in terrible emotional and psychological trauma. The conduct of the adult counselors that you describe would not be condoned by this or any other organization. No person, child or adult, should be required to endure the sort of experience that you describe.
Having extended our sympathies, I must tell you that it is very difficult indeed for us to know how to respond further to your letter. As I am sure you can imagine, all staff members working in the Charlestown Clubhouse of the Boys Clubs back in 1961 have long since left the organization. Records from that year, even assuming any exist, will be incomplete at best. In addition, it is virtually certain that there are no records relating to any programs, including the summer camp program that you describe, from as far back as 1961. Under the circumstances, with the passage of so many years, it is impossible for this organization in any realistic way to investigate the episode that you describe.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston is a non-profit organization, with limited resources fully committed to providing services to the children of Boston. The organization has a fiduciary responsibility to use its money for the accomplishment of its current charitable purposes. As a matter of both prudence and fairness, the Boys & Girls Clubs cannot respond to a request of the sort contained in your letter without undermining its current commitment to providing services to boys and girls in its existing clubhouses. If there is any additional information or evidence that you can provide concerning the events of 1961 described in your letter, we would be happy to consider that. Without such additional information, however, I must tell you that we have no basis on which to respond to your request for some form of support.
Once again, let me repeat the expression of sympathy with which I began this letter. Again on my own behalf and on behalf of this organization, we wish you every success in pulling your life back together and finally recovering from the events of your earlier years.
Yours truly,
[signed]
Frances K. Moseley
President & CEO
FKM:jlf