Cost of camp | Imamother

amother

Rainbow

Wed, Jul 17 2024, 4:12 pm

amother Currant wrote:

They are paying for food. Utilities. Upkeep of the grounds. My daughter's camp is also 3 weeks and is double but I don't pay for transportation or laundry and based in their calendar they really entertain the kids. But we got a scholarship or she wouldn't be going. I personally don't believe in sleep away learning camps. If half the day the boys are learning they can do it at home.

Curious, do you have teenage boys yet?
If they learn half a day at home, what exactly are they supposed to do from 1 pm - 1 am??

amother

Steelblue

Wed, Jul 17 2024, 4:16 pm

keym wrote:

Standard in both girls and boys camps. Counselors, waiters, specialties, etc. they pay a smaller amount for camp. They get paid in tips.
Married staff, learning Rebbeim get paid.

Fyi learning rebbeim do not get paid. Only specialty staff and those in management positions do.

↑ Hashem_Yaazor

Wed, Jul 17 2024, 6:57 pm

amother Moonstone wrote:

Hey, anyone who doesn't want to pay to send their teen bochur to camp can have them work in a daycamp.

I live in an OOT Midwest city and many of the counselors are from the e coast!!

Many high schools now require it, and it's a separate cost from tuition.

amother

Taupe

Wed, Jul 17 2024, 7:21 pm

I’m paying 10 grand to send 3 boys to camp for 4 weeks. Does not include, luggage, bus, canteen, tips.
I’ve been sending for a few years to this camp and they went up a lot this year. Next year my oldest should be staff.
Usually specialty staff and waitresses pay reduced fee, but counselor and older staff don’t pay

amother

Amaranthus

Wed, Jul 17 2024, 8:11 pm

amother Cerise wrote:

I think what is particularly egregious is when going to camp is a requirement for mesivta boys and parents still have to pay those prices. If the mesivta makes it a requirement to go to their camp (which is a continuation of their yeshiva but relocated to camp grounds), they have to figure out a way to make it affordable for parents.

Many yeshivos do have scholarship funds for this purpose.

amother

↑ Currant ↓

Thu, Jul 18 2024, 7:43 am

amother Rainbow wrote:

Curious, do you have teenage boys yet?
If they learn half a day at home, what exactly are they supposed to do from 1 pm - 1 am??

They can work in a local day camp. My son's counselor is learning in the morning and working in the afternoon. There are 3 boy day camps in my area that hire teenage boys. Are boys so helpless that they need to be sent away? Camp ends at 4. They can do an evening chavrusa and go to bed at 10. What's with 1 am?

amother

Bellflower ↓

Thu, Jul 18 2024, 7:52 am

amother Currant wrote:

So you don’t have teenage boys?

amother

Blush

Thu, Jul 18 2024, 8:10 am

keym wrote:

Standard in both girls and boys camps. Counselors, waiters, specialties, etc. they pay a smaller amount for camp. They get paid in tips.
Married staff, learning Rebbeim get paid.

I don't know about other camps but baiseinu the girls don't get to keep the tips the camp takes everything and then gives each girl a certain amount if there's more the camp keeps it.

↑ Chayalle ↓

Thu, Jul 18 2024, 8:40 am

amother Blush wrote:

I don't know about other camps but baiseinu the girls don't get to keep the tips the camp takes everything and then gives each girl a certain amount if there's more the camp keeps it.

In Chaviva the camp has a mandatory tip fee, which they pass on to the counselors - so there's no "more" or "less" tipping. I'm assuming all of the counselors get the same amount, and it's equally divided from all the girls in the bunk.

In CBY you tipped the counselors directly, except for in TC's where the sups got tipped the same way as Chaviva does. I actually liked this method because I could show my appreciation to a counselor that went the extra mile. But I know the flip side - those who got away with tipping less than the tipping rate, thus shortchanging the counselor. I was once shmoozing with someone I know, who was suprised that anyone would be "stupid" enough to give the suggested tipping rate. She saw it as a very loose guideline. Before you say she couldn't afford it, let's just say her kids' designer clothes took priority.....

↑ mha3484

Thu, Jul 18 2024, 11:04 am

For context I really don't believe in over scheduling my kids. I think its healthy for them to have some unstructured time but its a spectrum. So saying that.

My 13 turning 14 year old stayed home last summer and came home from day camp at 3:30. Bed time is 10 or 10:30. There was no masmidim and anyway its just an hour a night. His next sibling is a 9 year old boy so they are not really hanging out. It was too much unstructured time and he had a very hard time with it. Every friend I talk to has the same concern. 6 plus hours of nothing to do isn't good for them and no one is interested in planning night activities for these boys.

amother

Jetblack

Fri, Jul 19 2024, 8:41 am

Chayalle wrote:

This whole tip mishegas, if you think about it is crazy. Don't call it a tip if it's mandatory, call it paying the counselors. Because that's exactly what it is. The camp keeps everything for themselves so we have to pay additional amount to cover the counselors Banging head

amother

Quince

Fri, Jul 19 2024, 8:43 am

amother Blush wrote:

I don't know about other camps but baiseinu the girls don't get to keep the tips the camp takes everything and then gives each girl a certain amount if there's more the camp keeps it.

Do parents know this??

amother

Steel

Fri, Jul 19 2024, 8:50 am

As a camp director I can’t tell you there are thousands of dollars that go to operations, salaries, maintenance etc. if they don’t own the grounds then rent alone is approximately 250-300k. Trust me, I have yet to see people that own camps that make fat salaries. Some make a good parnassa depending on when they opened up and how many campers they have. But it takes years of investment to actually make good money.

asmileaday

Fri, Jul 19 2024, 8:53 am

My son didn't have to pay to be staff in a camp. He thought they were paying him too little at $500 for 4 weeks (not a counselor). I told him to be happy they're paying and not asking him to pay.
He couldn't wrap his head around the idea that they would make him pay!

amother

↑ Cerise

Fri, Jul 19 2024, 8:59 am

mha3484 wrote:

Why did day camp end so early?

My 12 year old son is in day camp. Camp ends at 5:30 (except for the days with late nights). He comes home, eats dinner, plays with his siblings, and heads out to night seder, come home and gets ready for bed.

The issue isn't that your son needs sleepaway camp. It's that the day camp hours aren't long enough.

↑ Chayalle

Fri, Jul 19 2024, 9:51 am

amother Jetblack wrote:

eh...this is the tip culture of today. My nail salon and local restaurant also have mandatory tipping.

amother

Chestnut

Fri, Jul 19 2024, 10:45 am

keym wrote:

I have boys in Lakewood yeshivish mesivta camps.
$2500 a piece.
Plus transportation
Plus laundry

Its exactly 3 weeks long. They give out a camp tshirt nothing else.
They do 1 big and 1 small trip and 1 singer.
Counselors and staff pay around $1200 to attend.
They learn for the whole morning and a significant night Seder.

I know it's not as expensive but it feels very expensive for what we're getting.

How much does your camp cost?
How long? What do you have to pay extra for?

I'm kind of shocked. Chabad overnight mesivta camp, 7 weeks long. Full price $4500, yeshiva took off $1000 for us and we received another $500 scholarship from a camp fund organization. So we paid $3000.
They learn till about 5 pm and then there's sports, swimming, trips. They learn again for an hour or so after maariv. My son called me at 11 pm last night from an ice skating rink.
I gave my son $100 spending money. Yeshiva is asking us now to pay a $50 laundry fee because their on-site machines broke.
That's all.

ETA: I have 3 boys as staff members for the past five summers in chabad overnight camps and there is no fee to be staff. My sons get paid anywhere between $300-$800 plus free canteen for the summer. They've been learning counselor, counselor for elementary age, kitchen and canteen manager, and office staff.