Notes from Camp March, 2022

Hi Folks,

IT OCCURS TO ME….

Last month Prestin and I were able to attend the American Camping Association conference in Portland, Oregon. This was the first time that we have been able to be at a conference like this since early 2020. It was great to get to see so many familiar faces and meet some of the people that we had only talked to through a square in a zoom meeting.

The overall theme of the conference was a very fitting “Surviving & Thriving”. This definitely hit home for a lot of us. It has become clear that things are evolving from last summer, where our goal was to bring campers and staff to camp in the safest way possible, to this coming summer where we are focusing on helping them grow and achieve their goals, and to thrive while doing it.

There were a lot of extremely beneficial sessions and speakers that we were able to interact with and learn from, but the two instances that stood out to me the most were the Keynote Speakers. Tuesday afternoon we heard from Candance Dody, an author and speaker who travels all over the country helping leaders build courage in themselves. She used a metaphor about how she was ashamed and embarrassed by the beat up old car she drove to school, so she parked in the back of the parking lot so that no one would see that it was her car. Sometimes our own self doubt about one aspect of our life can overshadow all the brilliance and expertise that we bring to the table. We can get overwhelmed with the stressors and expectations in our lives and forget the skills and the qualities that make us all capable of handling tough situations. She helped us see the experience that we all have and how we can’t continue to park in the back of the parking lot, we have to strive to own that expertise and use it proudly.

Another keynote speaker was Dr. Denise Pope, a Professor at Stanford University. She touched on why camp matters. Most of us have seen first hand the positive impact that attending summer camp can have on a child, but she helped us understand that we have all been through a lot in the last couple years. The pandemic has been one of the most notable stressors in all of our lives. Kids have been impacted significantly, with remote learning, increased stress, and lack of ability to interact with friends to name a few. They need a little support bouncing back from all of this, we all do. Camp is the perfect way to help with this, it is a place to heal, feel a sense of belonging, and to just have fun!

We are so excited to bring all that we were able to learn to another fantastic summer at camp. We will pass on all the insights and knowledge that we collected while in Portland on to the rest of our Leadership team in the coming months and use this to evolve and continue to support and better our campers and staff.

YO PARENTS:

It is spring time in the land, and that means it’s time to get started on all the fun pre-camp paperwork! Yay!

Some of you have already gotten to it, and that’s great. If that’s not you, please don’t panic. There is still plenty of time to get everything taken care of.

Here’s the best part: ALL OF THE INFO YOU NEED, AND MOST OF THE QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE ARE ANSWERED IN YOUR PARENT HANDBOOK! It’s long. There’s a lot of info. But it is highly organized and you can just look up the info you need as you need it!

PLEASE download your Parent Handbook from your CampInTouch page.
PLEASE read through it. Not all at once, but it is important enough that you should be familiar with all the info in there.
PLEASE call or email us if you have any questions at all.

HEALTH FORMS:

All of the health forms we require are on your CampInTouch page. This includes:

HEALTH HISTORY: This is an online form you complete and submit from CampInTouch. Please have a look at this and be sure all sections are completed by May 15th.

INSURANCE & CONSENT FORM: This is a form required by the medical providers in our area so we can expedite a visit to their facilities for our campers. It is a form you download, fill out, and upload to your CampInTouch account. All health insurance information must be included in this form.

DOCTOR’S FORM: This is a one-page document that your doctor’s office must fill out EACH summer. This is the doctor’s verification that your son is healthy enough to attend camp, and it is a requirement by the ACA and the state of Wisconsin. It is a form you download, fill out, and upload to your CampInTouch account

IMMUNIZATIONS: You can submit this information through the Health History form, or if you prefer, you can download this template, fill it out and upload it. If you have a paper record already, you can upload it by clicking the “upload” arrow in the “Immunizations” row on your CampInTouch page.

CAMPER MEDS:

ALL medications your son may take at camp, prescription or otherwise, you will mail directly to camp in their original bottles with the prescription, and we will dispense it to your son on the schedule you select. It is important that you make sure your dispensing instructions are clear on your son’s Health History, and they match any instructions on the bottle with the medications.

There are important dates by which we must receive your son’s medications. IF YOU ARE LATE MAILING YOUR MEDICATIONS TO CAMP, FEES UP TO $100 WILL BE APPLIED. The table below lists these important dates. Please take a look, and again, this information is in your Parent Handbook.

Date by Which Medication MUST Arrive at Camp	1st Session	2nd Session
10 Days Before Session Begins – NO FEE	June 10, 2022	July 7, 2022
5 -9 Days Before Session Begins – $50 FEE	June 11 – 15, 2022	July 8 – 12, 2022
4 Days or Less Before Session Begins – $100 FEE	June 16, 2022 or Later	July 13, 2022 or Later

ARE THERE ANY EXCEPTIONS? If your son experiences a last-minute injury or illness requiring a medication to be prescribed beyond our designated deadline, we will, of course, manage the medication for him. If a late doctor appointment results in a prescription change or addition, we will manage that as well. In either event, we will add a Medication Handling Fee of $25.

OTHER INFO & FORMS:

CAMPER PERSONALITY SURVEY: This is a form you fill out and submit from your CampInTouch page on our website. This is good stuff for us to know about your son to help us get ready for him. Also your 2nd (and last) opportunity to make cabin mate requests. THIS FORM IS NOT REQUIRED FOR CITs. Thanks!

Enrollment:

We have a few age groups with some open spaces. If you have any friends that might be interested please send them our way.

Camp for All Kids Event:

This year Camp for All Kids is honoring Mike and Leslie Cohen for their many years of work and leadership. If you are in the Chicagoland area on April 22nd please join us at Loft 21 in Lincolnshire IL.

If you cannot join us please consider making a donation.

You can find more information on this page.

BRAVO TO OUR BIRTHDAY BOYS:

Avery Oppenheim 3/1, Cole Ramirez 3/3, Jack Dubinsky 3/4, Ryan Lee 3/5, Kylo Hancerli 3/5, William Frankel 3/5, Calvin Pence 3/6, Andrew Melrose 3/7, Jude Cullen 3/8, Liam Schafer 3/8, Lennon Pockross 3/8, Carter Segall 3/9, Jonah Bartlett 3/9, James Rauch 3/9, Adam Klein 3/10, Abbott Arthur 3/11, Michael Dattilo 3/12, Grant Van Thomme 3/13, Gabriel Bookman 3/14, Cooper Weinstein 3/16, Teddy Merritt 3/17, Frankie DePodesta 3/19, Ethan Fromm 3/19, Spencer Cohen 3/20, Juan Pablo Wagner Perez 3/21, Javier Vallejo 3/22, Charles Carroll 3/22, Elias de Souza 3/23, Jonah Gerstein 3/23, Joseph Ettinger 3/24, Brian Strain 3/26, Desmond Brown 3/27, Solomon Greene 3/28, Joe Berns 3/28, Stephanie Byrane 3/28, Valdemar Pluma Pluma 3/30, Ricardo Palacios 3/30

Later this month, we’ll update you on some campers and counselors who will be joining us this summer!!!

Benches up,

Sam