LEWISTON — Summer camp organizers said Thursday they were disappointed to learn that this year would be the last for local kids to go to camp for free.

The Libra Foundation of Portland, which since 2000 has donated money for fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders in Maine communities to attend summer camps, announced earlier this week that the program would end after 2010.

Over the past 10 years, more than 33,000 children have gone to camps on the foundation’s scholarships, including more than 11,200 from Lewiston.

“The Libra Foundation invested in a huge gift to this community,” said Joleen Bedard of the United Way, which administers The Opportunity to Shine summer camp program. “It certainly is a loss. They committed to 10 years and we’re very thankful.”

The foundation also paid for students from Portland and Bangor, and 50 from Auburn, to go to camp. The foundation has paid $1,000 per student. Last year the amount was cut to $500.

“It allowed children to meet different kids and learn self-confidence,” Bedard said. For some inner-city children, including some who had never seen a lake, it was an experience they never would have had, she said. “For some families, it’s just not within the budget.”

Some summer camps may disappear when the Libra money is gone, Bedard said. “It certainly was an economic engine for a lot of camps. Many were sustained because of the Libra Foundation.”

Directors at the YMCA in Auburn, which runs Camp Connor on Range Pond in Poland, were absorbing the news.

“I can’t say we’re jumping for joy, but the region, the state, has been so fortunate to have Libra step forward and provide those camperships,” said YMCA Executive Director Brian DuBois. “It’s their decision. We respect it, but that is going to be a significant challenge for us and other camps.”

DuBois didn’t know the number of youngsters who have attended Camp Connor on Libra scholarships, “but it is significant,” he said.

The change won’t mean an end to Camp Connor. “We’re just going to have to find a way to connect those kids with camping,” DuBois said. For families without the means, the Y is about to kick off an annual campaign to raise $50,000 for campers and memberships.

Roger Philippon, public affairs dean at Central Maine Community College, said most of CMCC’s campers don’t attend on Libra money, but many do. “It will have an impact,” Philippon said. It could mean fewer weeks of camp.

“We’ve been very appreciative of Libra for their support,” Philippon said. “While we’re disappointed, we understand they, like everybody, have to make difficult decisions.”

Owen Wells, president of the Libra Foundation, said last July that the foundation would provide $1.5 million for camp scholarships for one more summer, and re-evaluate whether to continue.

On Thursday, Wells said Libra wanted to focus on other endeavors. “We haven’t made a decision about that. The staff is looking and will be making recommendations to the trustees.”

Wells appreciates the thanks his organization has received, he said. At the end of every camp season, kids and parents send thank-you letters. “It’s been great in every regard,” Wells said.

At Montello Elementary School in Lewiston, counselor June Foster said families would be encouraged to sign up for the last year of free summer camp. Of those who qualify, 82 percent take part. She’ll try to boost that percentage, she said.

“Just to get out of Lewiston and go to a state park and go swimming, that’s a great opportunity,” Foster said. “Some children would never get out of the city. It’s going to be missed.”

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Some Libra programs

The Libra Foundation of Portland, created by the late philanthropist Betty Noyce in 1989, doesn’t make any grants outside Maine. One of its biggest projects is the Pineland Farm in New Gloucester. Last year Libra spent $4.5 million on Pineland to develop and promote Maine jobs, Maine produce and agricultural education.

It spends $3 million on two programs for Maine children. One is “Raising Readers,” $1.5 million a year. Across Maine when a baby is born, the mother leaves the hospital with a bag of three books. The child is given more books at pediatrician visits. “By the time the child is 5, they have a little library,” Wells said.

Libra also spends $1.5 million on the Maine Winter Sports Center, which has a program in Rumford. Statewide, the center pays for 8,000 youngsters to ski.