Walcamp Outdoor Ministry and Retreat Center

Arrivals and Departures

Walcamp is a Child Safe Zone
No firearms, weapons or drugs are permitted on the grounds.
Adults licensed for conceal carry are asked to keep those items locked safely in their vehicle.

Pets traveling with you
We ask that you leave any pets in your vehicle during arrival or departure so they do not disrupt the process.
Before you sign in, and after you sign out, you are welcome to explore the camp grounds with your leashed pets. Please keep your pets outdoors and away from other guests, and please clean up after them.

Campers cannot leave camp until they have been signed out, and they must remain with their group leader.

Late Arrivals & Early Departures
If circumstances require a late arrival or early pick-up:

• Please inform our office in advance if you need to schedule a late arrival or an early departure. This gives us time to inform their Group Leader that your child is attending for the day, or gives us time to gather your child’s things and escort them to the office before your arrival.
• Campers can be dropped off and picked up at our office, unless you are directed otherwise.
• Early departures may result in campers missing out on camp activities, including field trips, that take their group away from our "main camp" area during the scheduled departure time.

Early Arrivals & Late Departures
For our team to best prepare for your child’s stay.

• Walcamp team members are generally not available to supervise campers before the Drop-off times.
• Late pick-ups are discouraged as it prevents our team members from fulfilling other responsibilities that keep our camp clean and safe for everyone.
• Please call ahead if you know your child’s driver will be late so we can reassign our team as needed
• Any special circumstances must be discussed with our team in advance. They will be handled on an individual basis, and are subject to the availability of our team members.

Unauthorized persons cannot pick up your camper. For your child’s safety, the primary parent/adult caregiver must call our office IN ADVANCE if there is a change in drivers.

AT NO TIME should a child be dropped off and left alone unsupervised at camp.

 

General Information

Walcamp Emergency Contact Info

• Walcamp's phone number is 815-784-5141
• This land line is staffed during office hours, 9:00 am to 3:00 pm Monday-Friday.
• After hours, dial Option 3 to reroute your call to our on-call cell phone. A full-time staff member will respond at their first available opportunity.
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Contact from Walcamp

The outdoors is a great place for fun and growth, however outdoor play does have some risks too. Walcamp seeks to reduce or eliminate the risks we can, and we partner with parents to provide the best possible care in the event that a participant becomes sick or injured during their stay at camp.

Our team is trained to handle a variety of medical, weather and other emergency situations. Questions about Walcamp's emergency action plans can be directed to Youth@Walcamp.org - please ask in advance, rather than seeking immediate answers during a potential crisis.

The following are examples of when Walcamp might contact a child’s parent or guardian.

• Emergency weather updates are posted on our Facebook page in the event of extreme weather, when calling every parent would not be possible. Please be patient - our first priority is the safety and care of our on-site guests and staff.

• For incidental bumps or scrapes,
• • Parents will not receive a call for small scrapes, bruises, minor burns from campfire building, insect stings, lost tooth from natural causes, muscle soreness or other simple first aid situations that can be cared for by the Camp Nurse or a team member trained in first aid. Parents will be notified of these incidents when their child is picked-up.

• A courtesy call may be received in situations where a parent or guardian may be concerned if they are not informed of the situation before the end of their participant's program, but where the participant can remain at camp.
  • Minor injuries or bruising, especially on the face or arms, where the injury does not detract from their experience, but it is also impossible to overlook without some alarm, especially if seen in our daily online photo posts.
  • Extreme or consistent homesickness, especially if it results in symptoms like headaches or stomach aches.
  • Parents and Guardians may receive a call for behavior issues, such as a child being hit by (or hitting) another participant.
  • Any injury or illness the Program Director deems important enough to give a call home.

• For moderate injuries or illness, during daylight hours (8:00 am to 8:00 pm), a program leader or the nurse will call during to either notify you of treatment or to discuss your preferred treatment of a situation. We may ask for advice, or perhaps request that the camper return home.
  • Ongoing head-aches or stomach aches, a fall with visible bruising, or comparable circumstances that do not alter the camper's ability to participate.
  • Extreme homesickness, where other methods to care for and console the camper have been tried.
  • Extreme behaviors of physical or verbal aggression towards self or others.
  • Circumstances where a participant no longer benefits from the activity or where the injury/illness detracts from the value of their experience.
• For moderate injuries or illness, during nighttime hours (8:00 pm to 8:00 am), Walcamp staff and the nurse will care for the camper as they require and attempt to keep them comfortable through the night. Parent's or guardians will be notified of the incident and care received the following morning. A call home may still be made if a situation worsens, based on the judgement of our leadership staff or the camp nurse.
• For serious incidents requiring emergency care, the parent or guardian will be contacted at the first possible moment, following any immediate care required by the camper. This might include:
  • A sustained temperature over 104.0˚F (Reads high twice over a 20-minute period).
  • A request for an x-ray to determine between a sprain or a break.
  • Severe allergic reactions or vomiting.
• The call to a parent or guardian will be made if a situation requires EMS care or a hospital visit, including calls to any emergency contacts referenced if the child's primary caregiver cannot be reached. Often one program leader will call you while the nurse or another team member provides care to shorten any delays in communication.

Medications and OTCs

• Parents of Day Camper are asked to dispense morning medications before morning Drop-off
• All medications are collected and stored in a secure location. The exception is Inhalers, Epi-pens and similar items requiring immediate action - these are kept in the care of your child's Counselor or activity leader.
• Medications are dispensed at meal times and at bed time by a registered nurse, or by a designated, trained staff member. Medications dispensed outside of these times should be discussed at Check-in so that they are not overlooked.
• Owl Night Medications may be dispensed on an "opposite" schedule (since their "Breakfast" is at 5:30 pm and "Dinner" is at 8:00 am). You may need to discuss this with your child's physician and our Camp Staff in advance to determine the best time to dispense certain medications.

Meals and Allergies

• If your child has Food Allergies, please email GuestServices@Walcamp.org at least two weeks BEFORE your child attends camp so that we can be sure to plan our meals accordingly.
• Walcamp's kitchen team is equipped to adapt meals for common dietary allergies or restrictions.
• Please have your child eat before you arrive and check-in.
  • Breakfast is NOT provided for Day Campers.
  • Sunday Dinner is NOT provided for Sleep-Away Campers.
  • That being said... we will not let a camper go hungry. We have various snack options available upon request. We are also within 5 miles of a Casey's (pizza), McDonald's or Subway.

Snacks, Souvenirs and "Camp Store Money"

• Day Camper's do not need to bring cash to camp
  • Daily snacks are provided for Day camp and are built into the price
  • Souvenirs can be purchased by parents on weekday mornings. After Check-in, please park and visit the office and ask to make your Camp Store purchases.
  • Occasionally, our Day Campers ask for a "Camp Store" day to purchase soda or candy items. We will schedule these and inform parents in advance.
• Sleep-away Campers can plan to spend about $8 in snacks.
  • Our Sleep-away campers typically visit our Camp Store each day and purchase a snack item and a soda
  • Snack items may include candy, cookies, chips or ice cream bars depending on current supplies.
  • Camp souvenirs can be purchased Friday morning after Pick-up.

Rest & Reflection

Children tend to use more energy at camp than at home or school. R&R is a time for them to rest a little bit
before their afternoon activities, and usually lasts about 20 minutes.

• Many campers use this time for a quick nap, but it is not required.
• Others bring a book to read, write letters and stories, draw pictures or bring other quiet, restful
• activities that will not disturb the other campers.
• Electronic recreation (cell phones, tablets, etc.) will not be an option.
• Walcamp often hosts a "Movie Event" on Friday afternoons for a end-of-week change of pace and to assist with program transitions as we prepare for the following week.

Cellphones, Tablets and Electronics

Walcamp does not permit campers to bring electronic devices to camp or to carry them during camp activities.
This growing list includes, but is not limited to, the following items.

• Cell phones
• Tablets
• MP3 players
• Smart watches
• Portable video games
• Portable DVD, BlueRay and other video display devices

In our many years of running youth camps, we have learned that children receive better camp experiences if they “unplug” and leave some things at home for the week. There is also a higher risk of damaging or losing this expensive equipment while at camp.

... but I need to contact my child!

• Sleep-Away Camp options
  • Try our One-Way Email option - email CamperMail@Walcamp.org - with an encouraging message or photo (See Help with Homesickness). Please include your camper's full name and their camp program in the heading. Messages are printed and delivered at Dinner-time.
  • Send a letter or care package - You may need to send it a week early, or leave it with us at Drop-off.
  • Enable your child to send letters home - a stationary pack with paper and self-addressed, stamped envelopes helps.
• Parents can contact our office during the day to pass important messages on to the counselor or to their camper. Our office hours are 9:00 am to 3:00 pm.
  • In the event of a family emergency, your best chance of reaching us and speaking with your child is around noon when our campers are in the Dining Hall for lunch - as long as their group is not on a field trip or having a "cook-out"
• A request for a camper to call home on a specific day can be submitted in writing at Drop-off.
  • Parents are cautioned that hearing their parent's voice over the phone often results in even the bravest camper breaking down in tears and asking for an immediate ride home - no matter how great their camp experience has been up to that point.
  • Scheduled calls typically take place after Lunch during R&R, otherwise they tend to disrupt the flow of camp activities and the overall experience of both the camper and their group.
  • Please remember that we only have one phone line and cannot accommodate a request to call home from every camper that attends. We do our best to honor an arranged call, however sometimes outside factors may interfere - extreme weather, field trips, spontaneous group activities, etc.
• If you prefer to leave a cell-phone at camp with your child, please check it in with a team member as you would with an epi-pen or inhaler. These items are returned at pick-up time. Some parents use this option for their child to call for a ride.

Thank you for your understanding! By following these guidelines you also teach your child to respect our policies. It also also saves them from the embarrassment of “getting caught.”

Questions about “Contraband”
Cell phones and other items on the Do Not Bring list still occasionally appear on camp property. Walcamp staff does not search any child’s bags or belongings for these items, however such items tend to appear on their own.

• When discovered, the Counselor will set such items aside until they can be given to a Program Director (Pearl or Ducky), who will hold onto them until Friday.
• These items can be picked up from the Nurse along with any medications.

Photo Memories

Walcamp takes photos of camp groups throughout each week of camp to record their experiences and to share
them with parents and family members.

• Photos are posted to a secure Online Photo Album (using Google Drive) that is only accessible to the parents of registered campers each week.
• If you do not receive an email granting access to our Google Drive, please email Ben@walcamp.org
• For the safety of our campers and respect for their privacy, we ask that no photos be posted to any on-line web or social media site that includes campers other than your own, and that campers are not referred to by name in social media tags or comments.
• Please save and re-share photos of your child with other family members, rather than Sharing the entire Google Drive folder with them. Access from unregistered email accounts will not be granted, unless the primary caregiver first speaks to Ben (such as granting access to a second guardian).
• If you prefer that we do not take or share photos of your child, please email Ben with your request and your camper’s name(s) by the Thursday before your child attends camp.

Thank you for helping our campers stay safe in our digital world!

Lost & Found

Walcamp collects the items lost each week. Our staff does their best to return these items to their owners. Please contact our office as soon as you realize something is missing and we will do what we can to help find it for you. We generally do not keep lost underwear or socks. Unclaimed items are added to our supply of "extra clothes on hand" or donated at the end of the summer.

Extra clothes on hand? Walcamp maintains a small stockpile of common essentials in the event that a guest forgets something at home. This includes basic toiletries (soap, shampoo, toothpaste) and occasionally larger items - extra t-shirts or "river float shoes" as they are made available by donation or design (ie. left in Lost and Found for over 1 month). Please talk to Ben or email Ben@walcamp.org to discuss what items we can accept as a donation towards this stockpile to help our campers - since our storage space is limited!

About Our Team

Walcamp Summer programs are led by counselors and volunteers trained to work with youth of all ages in an outdoor setting. Our counselors are certified in First Aid and CPR, and are equipped with a wide variety of kid-friendly activities and games to ensure that their campers receive quality outdoors experiences.

 

ACA Accredited - Peer-reviewed Quality Experience

The American Camp Association is a community of camp professionals who join together to share our knowledge and experience and to ensure the quality of camp programs at 10,000+ member locations.