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Lisa Elliott - Camp Wasewagan - Californien - 1992 (ICEP Repræsentant)
Jane Nielsen - Camp Kennolyn - Californien - 2002 (ICEP Repræsentant)
Nedenfor kan du se lidt informationer om de forskellige camps, som danske counselors var på i sommeren 2004:
YMCA - Camp Orkila - 2004: The purpose of Orkila is to take the kids out of their usual environment which in some cases can be rough, and bring them to Orcas Island and give them a chance to have fun while they learn something. Orkila has the six core values which the camp philosophy is built around. The values are Faith, Care, Responsibility, Fun, Respect, Honesty and these values are what Orkilas program and rules are built around. By the way I really think that Camp Orkila has a great program with all these values woven into the camp. Orkila is located on Orcas Island very far away from NYC, across the country so about a couple thousand miles. I love the surroundings of Camp Orkila.
The beautiful nature is a big part of life at Orkila. The facilities are a great variety of many different things like ropes courses, swimming pool, garden, barn, BMX track and a lot more. The food, hot dogs, hamburgers, taco… I mean it was predictable but I liked it because in the morning they had a cereal bar so you could choose not to eat the pancakes and eggs and in the evening they always had a salad bar so it was only at lunch you couldn't choose. 400-450 kids, 230 staff (not exact number), 40 international, 160 American, plus office staff, directors, doctors, and so on. We had a lot of different kids: kids with social/mental problems, but the camp is pretty expensive, so the kids usually came from a decent economic background.
Camp Hazen -2004: Camp Hazen is Happy Hazen!! Camp Hazen was established in 1920 and was originally a boy's camp. The philosophy behind the camp is to give the children a great camp experience and teach them about YMCA's values: caring, respect, responsibility and honesty. We were about 120 counselors and we had a great team. I was so lucky both to be in a resident camp and day camp. Camp Hazen's mission/purpose is to help youth develop valuable life skills through camping experiences that build healthy bodies, open minds, and awakened spirits.
The camp is located in Chester, CT. Right by the beautiful Cedar Lake! About 2 hours drive from NYC. Some of the cabins had private showers and the rest of the cabins had a common shower room. If it was a rainy day we had different lodges and a day camp pavilion that we could use. A big dining hall- the food was okay. Sometimes it was too much fast food, but there was always fruit and salad bar. During the fall/winter the camp does a lot of teambuilding with college groups etc. So the woods are full of campsites and team building stations. Besides that we have an alpine tower and a climbing wall. In resident camp we had about 280 kids and 120 in day camp. We were about 120 staff members. 20% International and 80% from U.S. Most of the kids came from the upper class society (CT is the richest state in U.S.) But we had kids sponsored by organizations too. So basically we had kids with different backgrounds.
Camp Timbercrest - 2004: A girl scout camp. It is old fashioned in the way it is run, which I think is very good. The girls learn the basic nature skills and we have a lot of traditions which seems to comfort he girls. The philosophy at camp is to make everybody feel like they belong and the purpose is to make everybody feel good about themselves. To make them feel like they can do everything they need to or at least make them feel like they did their best. A slogan at camp is "Yes, I Can!!"
We had a basketball court and a volleyball net, as well as a field to play at. IN the Western New York, 2-3 hours away from Buffalo near Jamestown. Specifically in Randolph. 8 hours from NYC. WE all had platform tents. Then we had a building with a shower room, kitchen, and a dining hall, which was not to be used for anything else but eating. We did not have flushing toilets, but outdoor latrines. One night (at least) every week, you spent out in the nature away from these facilities. At least 3 cookouts a week (one for every meal). The food at camp was very childish but with time you get used to it. And in comparison to the other camp (Camp Arrowhead) we visit, very well. They had a lot of things we could use for activities. We had between 80-200 campers every week and 30 staff members. We had 3 males, 2 international counselors both from ICEP and the rest was 3 Junior Junior Counselor (age 16), 2 Junior Counselor (17) 3 Unit Leaders, 2-3 life guards, a program director, and a camp director. 4 kitchen staff and the rest were normal counselors. The camp is inexpensive so many of the families were lower or middleclass.
Camp Windham Tolland 4H - 2004: The camp was very good in general. Very primitive and with lots of opportunities for kids. The 4H camp (4H=head, heart, hands, health) is non religious but they put a lot of effort into giving each single child a unique experience through the 4 H's. About 4 hours from NYC in a car (Eastern Connecticut, Pomfret) The camp site was nice. A lot of woods and nature. The facilities were also good. There were lots of options for the kids. The food was OK. They recycled most of it, which made some of the kids complain. Children. It depended on the week. Week 2, around the 4th of July was little, about 75 kids. Week 7, the last week, we had 150 kids. The staff: 15 international staff members, 10 American staff members. The campers were very normal kids. But it was my general impression that some of them came from homes with parents who avoided them, yelled at them, etc. So the campers praised the camp and some talk about it as their best time in their life ever. (many did actually)