Day Camp Comments
Respondents were given the opportunity to provide any additional comments about day camp programs in their council. Responses are listed below "as is" from the survey. They have not been edited for spelling or grammar.
- The day camp programs are entirely volunteer run from the camp director down to the unit leaders. While this is rewarding work it is very time consuming (a year long commitment). The council only runs day camps for underserved girls, which is a great thing but the girls loose out due to the lack of day camps because volunteers are not available to devote 1 yr to 1 week of time.
- The main problem we have had with day camp is in the planning and advertising. plans are changed and circumvented with little or no explanation... no consideration given to the amount of thought and work that went into planning... for all to be changed
- Day camp here is sponsored by Service Units. There are many differences in quality, how they are run, etc.
- Day camps are well run but no choices after 5th grade.
- GS needs to figure out how to pay the older girls to serve as CITs at the day and resident camps. The girls can go to a BSA camp and get paid, sometimes as young as 15, whereas if they work at a GS camp, they have to volunteer their time.
- Our day camps are volunteer-run and very popular. I didn't answer questions above because you were asking about council-sponsored day camps.
- It would be awesome to have a day camp. The GS council I grew up in offer multiple day camps every week. I loved it. My youngest has gone to stay with grandma to participate in one
- We now run our own Day Camp here in Mercer County. Our local camp was sold. We have persevered and still continue to do a great program every year. With or without Council financial support.
- Would be awesome if it was offered
- There are certain places that are appropriate for day camps, but if a camp is a distance away from any major city, you are not setting yourself up for success by hosting a day camp there.
- Day camps are all for younger girls & most are 1.5 hours from our location. Prior to our merger, our legacy council offered at least one if not two summer day camps locally for the littlest girls. This year was the first year since the merger a local day camp has been offered by council staff & the cost was too high.
- Day camp is over an hour drive away and very cost prohibitive. No transportation is available unless you live near the camp. No camp programs at the camps in the Northern portion of the council.
- Transportation is not available for suburbs, only cities.
- Many day camps are only for non-Girl Scouts so that membership recruitment numbers can show an increase. The only day camps for Girl Scouts are paid for by the girls and volunteers.
- Our Council offers a great variety of Day Camp opportunities at their HQ Office facility and some of our local girls attend. Most don't due to being too far away.
- Bus service available at additional cost with very limited pick-up/drop-off sites that are not necessarily local
- Our communities have stepped up and offered some amazing day camps.
- What day camp? We used to have it in my/this council when I was a scout.
- I think day camps run at council are put on by local service units vs the actual council. As a result, there often isn't busing.
- Day camps are led by service units
- My older daughter and younger daughter went to day camp every year, it was a right of passage to group up and become the counselor in training and the counselor. Part of the fun/work was to stay at camp everynight during the 4-5 day time frame. Our council no longer allows this as they are worried about the girls safety. Which makes me worry about their safety also during the day. My younger daughter said she was not interested in participating in day camp because they were no longer allowed to stay during the camp and she didnt want to ride the bus back and forth hour drive each way.
- Day camps were a great and much needed addition to our council. Heard they were great.
- Local service units sponsor and run the day camps in their areas.
- More variety and less cost is needed - this should not be viewed as daycare!
- Day camp is by SUs.
- Day camps are only offered by "communities" fees range from $10 for a 4 day twilight camp to $80 for a 4 day day camp. Transportation would depend on the community
- I have volunteered at several GSCNC day camps. loved every moment!
- Transportation options are there but it's an hour each way. To much for a daisy or a brownie
- Day camp was sponsored by individual service units but were discontinued by most when the merger began. It was just too much hassle and so most volunteers just could be bothered. Our last attempt was about three years ago - since then we have opted for a weekend camp in August staffed by volunteers. This has been very successful.
- We have a fabulous system of volunteer run day camps that do better activities, at a more reasonable cost throughout the council. We are also given great staff support to make these camps successful.
- Since our local camp is closing, day camp is no longer an option for our troop. The other council camp properties are more than an hour travel time, one way.
- Day camp is provided by service units, not council.
- All daycamps in our council are volunteer run with no staff and the group has to pay for renting the camp.
- My girls love, love their day camp. They're sad when summer ends and really look forward to the next summer.
- Have to send my daughter to another council's day camp because my own council only offers one and it is very far from my house. The GS day camp that she does go to is very popular and fills up in 2-3 days once registration starts.
- Too dictative on councils end. Freedom needs to be returned to the SU.
- Each Service Unit administers their own Day Camp. They vary widely in quality. There is little Council oversight unless they think there is a problem.
- Volunteers run day camps. The council does not.
- My daughter loves going to daycamp if it cost less money we would go probably the whole summer
- Mine always did resident camp, but I could never drive 45-75 minutes (depending on traffic) every morning and every afternoon. Naturally, GSEP closed to only camp in our area..
- Day camps are popular during the summer. Most are put on by service units with volunteer labor, therefore offer programming with minimum cost to the council.
- Council run day camps at camp with transportation is the best way to go. So sad my daughter won't be able to have similar experiences like I did.
- Day Camps are not offered in many areas of the council, and many that are offered are only for 2 or 3 days.
- Council day camps are run like day cares. No GS activities are offered like badge work. Weekly themes are not planned. The girls gather in the morning, swim, lunch and movie after lunch. They are bored.
- I appreciate having the option of day camp. Not all girls want to go to a sleep-away program, and having the same activities available to them without leaving home has been wonderful.
- Our council does not sponsor day camps, but our Area does. It is 100% volunteer-led. Our area prides itself on the ability to keep costs low and that we provide bus service daily. Our Day Camp usually fills up. If we had a few more adult volunteers we could host more girls. Council does very little to support our Day Camp, other than provide a great Camp Ranger and life guards.
- None of my girls attended day camp this year. As a leader, I would like more detailed information beforehand.
- Day camps are volunteer planned and operated. I would love to run one locally, but am challenged by not having seasoned volunteers to do it. I have traveled 3 hours away the past 2 summers to learn from another Service Unit. Summer of 2013 I was Asst Unit Leader for Brownies, Summer of 2014 I was "promoted" to Asst Camp Director. Keep hoping to learn enough to take it back to my area, but so far it is confirming for me how we are not ready to pull it off. Maybe by the time my Brownie is old enough to be a Program Aide. In the meantime she and I will travel for the best experiences.
- There are SU sponsored day camps spread throughout our council but most are for daisies through cadettes. Older girls can be PA's but sometimes they want to have fun and not work- so they get frustrated by lack of options.
- Some Service units have their own day camps... but not all.
- Our Service unit hosts our own day camp
- I am a Day Camp Director and some girls can't attend due to transportation, Others it is because the parents register late and the units are already full. We can't find enough volunteers to keep within the safety ratio for girl/adult.
- My daughter attended 2-3 weeks of day camp every summer when it was at the nearby camp, that recently closed. Since they moved day camp to our local council building, she tried it for two separate weeks and said she wasn't interested in attending anymore.
- The council has only offered day camps near Johnson City and Knoxville Tennessee
- The cost of the council sponsored day camp & the cost of bus transportation to attend was too high.
- Day Camp only offered for Daisies, and I have older girls.
- They do not do day camps and leave it up to volunteers to put on.
- All of our council's 7-15 day camps are service unit/association based and solely run by volunteers and older girls. None of our day camps are run by council paid staff.
- Getting adults to step up to volunteer is usually the biggest issue, which restricts the numbers of girls who can attend. Training requirements for this past year were changed and didn't seem to be communicated by Council until late, causing many volunteers to scramble to get training.
- Day camp is run at the residential camp almost an hour away vs. the local camp which is only 15 minutes away.
- We need more day camp options
- We do not have day camp as an option
- Have actually not involved with council day camps, but help with the service unit day camp each year.
- My council no longer offers day camp options that I know of
- My troop participates in our SU and neighboring SU joint daycamp. Our cost is $60 for the week and if you volunteer it is only $35 for your girl. Our troop loves it so much they use a portion of their cookie money to pay for camp so that the parents only pay $20.
- Because the day camps are typically offered only in the areas near a council office or camp and transportation/scheduling is a serious problem our girls do not attend. Our Service Area (or one of our neighboring SA's) offer at least one day camp or camp-out experience during the summer...this is usually what our girls attend.
- An outdoor Day camp event showed Disney movies during turtle time, I can't believe with all the things to do at camp that was what they chose to do. They swam, archery and hike, why show tv?!???
- For younger girl's
- THEY STINK! Our only day camp option is held in the closest city. In a city! My daughter would love to go to a day camp, but not in an urban setting.
- I find the day camps are hit and miss. Most parents in my Troop feel the program looks good on paper but falls short once at camp.
- Day camp at council office only, and not much is offered...not very appealing
- Day camps are "sponsored" by the council, but are independently run by volunteers. Council provides no support. They charge a fee to the program since they are accepting/managing the applications.
- We have some good Day Camps. I don't know a lot about whether they are full or not though, or what the girls say about them. They need to do an end-of-camp survey for girls and volunteers, I think.
- The day camp by us in Allentown has horrible theme weeks. It is quite far from us and still a bit expensive. We went to the open house and it seemed well run and well maintained. However when it came time to choose a week, the themes were horrible. An outdoor GS camp with a spa theme??? Really? I will not send my GS scout to do a spa week. It pidgin holes her into a stereotype. If I want a GS camp for my daughter I want them to learn outdoor activities, arts and crafts, math or science ideas, creativity, or something similar. NOT a spa day. As for the neighborhood camps, the info does not come out until the kids are done w school. By then we are already set w camps. They need to be more organized about it!
- Day camp was the gateway to my daughter wanting to go to resident camp every year.
- Each SU can do their own. Because of our council size, there are a couple around us. We almost never do one in my SU. :-( I have taken my girls north 1/2 hour to a $100 one and south 1 hr to a $200 one. Both are good and fun. The south one is really wonderful and worth it to me. There are others, but I can't drive more distance than that.
- Should not be open to boys!!!
- Our council does not host day camp, our volunteers do all the work and then have to adhere to some aggravating procedures from our council. The council's support and guidelines need serious work. The greatest obstacle to running a day camp is to get enough adult volunteers.
- The facilities at our day camp are in desperate need of upgrade. The programs have been good and affordable. We used these through elementary school.
- Our service units host Day Camps and these are usually well run and a good bargain. Council should support there with additional "specialty" staff so older girls could also attend and expect some learning to take place. I also wish our Cookie Credit could be reimbursed at our Service Unit events. These are usually more affordable and easier to attend. However, you never know the quality.
- I am unaware of any day camp programs for girls other than Daisy level. We do have "Camp Evening Shade" hosted by a Service Unit that is very popular and fills up very quickly.
- The high cost and transport costs prohibit this, so we use SU sponsored Day Camp
- There is so much more benefit to resident camp, in my opinion
- I bring my daughter to 1 day events at camp, there are 3 camps which are 45 minutes to 1 hour 15 minutes away from our house. If we were closer then I'd consider day camp and daily pickups and drop offs, but due to the drive length I prefer to see more 1 day events available.
- Day Camp is great
- Service units organize and run day camps.
- Troop leaders tell me day camp activities are also farmed out to other nonprofits, such as nature centers, historical preservation organizations, and the like. Very little program for day campers comes from the council. Day camp becomes a succession of bus trips taking campers to other places where the people in charge do not know about Girl Scouts.
- It would be nice to many Journey themed day camps. I only know of one and it is 2 hours from us, not widely advertised and only for Seniors.
- I would pay extra for after care. My daughter loved camp and we would have done multiple weeks if after care would have been available.
- Our council dose not offer day camp. This is done by our service unit.
- Our day camps are sponsored by our service unit. Troop leaders plan and run camp all by themselves.
- Not enough availability
- The way it is run by the girls is variable. They don't embody or grow girl scout values. It is just another day camp with bratty girls being mean to others and the counselor s don't get it
- Have not heard about day camp program. We do have day/twilight camps offered during the summer but those are not council run camps but volunteer run
- The closest council day camp is hours away so not even on our radar. There was a council day camp for horses at the nearby camp a few years ago but it was just a one year thing since now the council rarely does things at camp and this particular camp has not had horses since that year (2011).
- Older girls want resident camp not day camp but this is not offered
- The area Service Units provide a day camp program each summer at one of our area camps. We Fill the Camp every year (21 years). Leader Daughter Camping- Filled the Camp. For both of these events leaders provided all programming.
- Day Camps are held at council camps. The nearest camp to us is an hour away and that's too far for day camp.
- Most Day Camps are only in Reno. Being a wide spread council, that limits who can attend a day camp. Sometimes a service unit will host a 3 day camp.
- Very few camps offered, bad times, inconvenient, mostly they're not even at camps
- The hours are ridiculous for working parents to pick up and the distance is too far to drive back and forth daily. When I was a scout our council would organize a van at various pick up points so busy parents didn't need to drive the whole distance
- Our Day Camps are run by volunteers, I volunteer on the Core Committee of our local day camp - it is a GREAT week of fun program completely led by Volunteers which helps us keep the cost down.
- Day camp locations closer to home would be helpful-our Council covers a large area, and despite council properties not too far from us, camp choices nearby are limited or nonexistent.
- I have never seen a Day Camp program put on by my council. If they have one planned at all, the information is not made readily available.
- I struggle getting enough adults who are able to volunteer for a week each year. I work with a skeleton crew of approved adults and have absolutely NO backup in case of illness or emergency.
- Day camps are usually service unit ran.
- Day Camp is Daisy and Brownie focused.
- Our council does not offer transportation, however our Service Unit usually tries to organize a bus to take girls. In my opinion, we live too far from Camp Todd to make attending the day camp worthwhile. It's a 45min drive if there's no traffic, meaning the girls are on a bus for at least 90min each day. However, several of the families from our troop have sent their girls, and made use of the SU bus. I've heard that their girls loved the program.
- There are very few day camps. Not a lot of choices.
- Our council no longer supports day camps. Our volunteers have to rent the camp and do it without the support of council. The camp itself is wonderful, but without the support of council, costs are increasing and making it more difficult to run the camp.
- It would be nice to have several options spanning the summer at more locations than the very few camps
- Our council DOES NOT have a day camp. Again this is another thing we do as a GS Community.
- Council sponsored day camps are at council headquarters which is in Spokane. This is way to far to travel to. Meanwhile, since the merger the council has made it more difficult for service areas to hold day camps.
- Day Camps are directed and staffed by all volunteers to keep costs low. I typically fill up within a month.
- Council only offers one day camp, in Howard County, and it fills up the first day registration is allowed. They used to offer a camp in Annapolis but failed to staff it and had to stop offering it.
- We need to bring day camp back
- Again to far away.
- We've attended Day Camp once but the week was so hot it was unpleasant and we ended up missing one of the days. Temperatures were over 100 degrees that week and they didn't have enough water for the kids. I ended up having to bring my own water cooler.
- The fact that the programs in my area fill up so quickly is an indication of what a good job the volunteers are doing.
- Camp Bay. Breeze is our closest. It was damaged severely by a Hurricane and getting the repairs done had to happen by the state and county. Girl Scouts need to support the camp. I'm frequently disappointed in the Girl Scouts level of support and commitment to the out reaching counties.
- Most girls in my troop attend council sponsored day camp
- Council only "sort of" offers transportation. The pickup point is in an adjacent town, across a river, and costs an additional $30 per week.
- Because of parent's work schedule pick up is hard. Wish there was an aftercare program after day camp is over. Parents including myself will pay extra for aftercare. Aftercare doesn't have to be at the camp site. In our location the bus drop off/pick up is at a church. GSCNC doesn't partner up with the church to rent out space for the aftercare program. This would be a big help for the parents and give more girls the outdoor experience.
- The location of transportation for day camp is a one stop place. They do not offer various pick up points to make it more accessible, so NONE of my girls have ever attended. Then the camp they take them to is 45 minutes away as we have NO CAMPS left in our county.
- Again, our prices are reasonable compared to other programs.
- My council doesn't offer a day camp. I am the SU manager and my SU offers one locally at the small "city" camp. It is usually only 3 days long and is ran by leaders who also work full time jobs.
- The day camp program is a lot of work for the volunteers. I am a day camp director and am intimately familiar with the inter workings. The training required of every volunteer is a major hindrance to attracting adults. Skilled teachers and other professionals should be able to test out. Also, many day camp volunteers are new to scouts and are put off by the general training requirements when they really care about day camp only.
- Have a positive experience with the day camps as a whole :)
- Bus cost to much money should be with the cost of the camp. programs are not the best.
- My daughter has been attending the Lake Rickabear day camp program for the last five years and loves it. We hope to keep the tradition going another few years (and eventually see her become a CIT!)
- Our council offers very little support to the volunteers leading Day Camps. The programs end up costing the committees a lot due to high property fees and lack of supplies.
- Day Camps are not council sponsored, but put on my Service Units. Out of 64 Service Units, last year only 5 had Day Camps. They were not advertised by Council, there is no formal training, there is no organization to the Day Camp program. Yet, if you host a day camp - you are required to budget a portion of the cost to go back to council for advertising and registration management.
- In my area, council offers one summer day camp that is an hour away from the majority of the girls. They do offer a spring break day camp, but it is geared toward the inner city, non-GS as a recruiting tool. Our SU's hold volunteer led summer day camps.
- Our council expects the service units to do day camps. This is not possible in our service unit as we are mostly working class and no one, let alone several people, can afford to take a week off to do a say camp. And there is no where available to hold one anyway.
- Day camp is run the by the Service Units. I don't think council per say offers Day Camp. We have none that are near my house.
- Transportation would be a great help.
- Not something that interests our family.
- There are many Day Camps available in our council and they are all planned by volunteers only.
- Finding Day Camp volunteers is our biggest problem! We need volunteers to run the camp so we can accept more girls. We also need to make it more appealing to the girls.
- We need to add Day Camp back to our program choices as it gets girls out to camp and is especially good for our young ages to learn and get use to camp.
- There was no day camp in our service unit last year, and the council-organized camps were over an hour away, and they were too much money. My son's cub scout day camp was half the price, and local, making it much easier and affordable for him to attend.
- Going to Girl Scout day camp makes no sense in our community. The nearest facility is two hours away and our village has a wealth of day camps through the park district, etc.
- A bus drop off pick up would be huge benefit for our Murfreesboro day camp
- Most of the day camps are for the Daisy level. I would love it if there was a horseback riding camp as day camp
- Our council used to offer a fantastic boating day camp on the ocean, but it closed 5 years ago due to budget cuts. Would love to see it come back since it was such a unique program and the council already owns all of the boats. Now though, service units will offer day camps for their cities (not council affiliated), which is great.
- Many of our girls would be interested in doing camp, but cannot because of the limited size and the arduous registration process.
- The council-sponsored day camp is on the same property of our largest overnight camp. This allows it access to the programming available to the overnight camp.
- Our day camps are mainly indoors since we only have council offices with small meeting spaces to offer day camps
- Transportation cost extra
- Day camp is more affordable, but options are limited for older girls. There used to be day camp closer to my home, but now it's only at council-owned properties
- Our Day Camp is run entirely on Volunteers.
- We have never attended a day camp
- Transportation only offered for local scouts.
- The day camps that I am aware of are actually put on by the SU's, not be the council
- My girls haven't done day camp in years, but enjoyed it when they did. They earned a badge when attending day camp.
- There is a camp called Twilight Camp that occurs in La Crescenta every year that is run (I believe) by all volunteers. My daughter loves this camp and looks forward to it.
- Day camp is done by each service unit by a volunteer. The up side is that cost is kept low.
- Day camps aren't run by council. They are run by service units.
- Service units host day camps.
- More information need on this.
- Day camps are left up to the Service Unit and last year ours did not have one although the year before they did. Nothing was ever put out to the parents why.
- None for older girls
- Day camp is largely volunteer-run in my council, although that is likely to change. The volunteer-run camps are hosted by geographical areas and vary considerably in length, cost, transportation, etc. In general they are quite popular. For council sponsored day camps, cost will be a concern.
- If we can have bus stop in south side after week 2 my daughter can attend day camp longer and I am willing to pay a reasonable transportation fee
- Council doesn't offer. Service Units are expected to fill this component of camping experience.
- Most common complaint i hear from moms is that some college age counselors have been too sarcastic to their child and the child interprets it as bullying or mean. Then when the parent reports , emails this to camp directors, they do not get a response. Some parents go as far as to tell me that they send three emails, no response. Most common complaint i hear from camp staff is that some staff treat camp as their own camp , friendship hangout, and not a real job, with certain cliques of employees involved in Too much gossip, favor exchange, and relationship bullying of other coworkers. Also appears to be some favoritism by managers of some staff over others, or misuse of staff role. For example, the director cleaning up craft areas when prior counselors should have, or the nurse being instructed to put away sports equipment and thereby not being in the nurses office and available for real medical issues.
- There was a day camp program at the closest camp a couple years ago with a bus, but not last year. One of the girls in my troop who was going to drop out went to day camp, and that got her to sign up for another year. (She did drop out later, because she and her brothers were too busy with travel ice hockey).
- Our council was offering day camp at Camp Dewitt which is in the process of restoration, all other camps, resident and day owned by my council are 1-2 hours away.
- Our SU runs a local 3 day, day camp for $30 per girl. Council does it for over $75 locally and over $100 at the main central camp (2-3 hours away)
- There is some transportation. But not for the two hour drive from here. Ha.
- There is no daycamp available in our council.
- Day camp drop off or transportation times are avenged inconveniently.to parents work schedule. 1 week of day camp costs about the sane as 1 week of volunteer ran camp
- My council does not sponsor any Day Camp activities. My service unit does. Our council promotes it, but does not fund it.
- The difficulty is transportation to the day camp locations. The good news is that day camps are supported by service units who have developed their own.
- Most day camps offered are an hour away. Closer events are expensive and fill up fast (some within hours).
- Lots of crafts and "empowerment" but little skill building. The empowerment comes from the mastery of skills. My daughter and my scouts went one year and never went back
- Transportation would be a big plus. Even organizing some sort of carpool would help.
- They offer buses sometimes, but only for inner city youth.
- They need more day camps, & the schedules are completely impossible for working parents. They could make some serious money if they offered programs on schedules that fit the regular workday & offer transportation from accessible sites.
- Day camps in our council are organized and run by the volunteers. Our council has made this increasingly more difficult so there are many fewer day camps now than there were 5 and 10 years ago.
- We have our own day camp, and do not provide transportation, but with an all volunteer run camp, we feel we do more, and provide better options.
- We now run our own day camp, independent of council.
- Fun for younger kids. The older girls are less excited and look toward resident camp.
- The value and experience has been great for my brownie and Junior, but the hours are difficult for use working parents (? Drop off out of the way place at 9 am and pick up at 230 or 3 PM? ). Not sure if they will stay engaged with the older age groups, but they do have a good "in training" program for the older girls it appears. Note- the day camps are offered at by the Service Units. One challenge is the registration process-some are on-line, others are paper. May not know if you are "in" or not.
- The local area typically does one Twilight camp during the summer which is geared to the younger girls.
- Day Camps are expensive, again the camps that have amazing programs (which we are lucky we do have) are worth the money and the inconvenience of traveling to. All of our horse based camps are way to far to even consider Day Camp, they are over 2 hours away.
- I can't drive my daughter over an hour each way for day camp.
- We use to put day camp on 8 miles from where we live but they closed that camp
- I would live to see day camps offered in the Inland Empire area. It is too far to drive an hour to and an hour from each day. It makes me sad my daughter can't have the same opportunities as others simply because the program centers nearby do not offer day camps.
- Service Units provide day camp opportunities
- Our SU provides day camp. Council does not. I would love to see that happen though...
- We used to have an all volunteer day camp one week a year that introduced girls to camp and got them excited to come back. Transportation was also provided and it was really affordable (If you worked, your daughter attended for free). This program is no longer available since the merger and so less girls are exposed to camp.
- It would be great to have Cadette and up day camps. Badge workshops and Journeys would be perfect material for day camps.
- We need new program choices. They've been repeating the same ol' thing for years now. Spice it up!
- These are sponsored by the areas. Not the council.
- It provides transportation but only for some camps/areas.
- Service units offer day camps but registration is now thru council event website. Prices vary.
- Used to provide transportation. This year, DID NOT provide any council sponsored camps - relied on volunteer led day camps. TOO MUCH reliance on volunteers! They dump too much on the volunteers.
- Staffing & management of the day camp program is often a problem. Especially seems to be a conflict between day & resident camp management as they take place simultaneously at the same camp location.
- There are no longer any day camp programs within a reasonable distance of our town. The closest program would require parent transportation on a jammed freeway for over 45 minutes one way. Not happening anymore...
- They stopped offering lunch in the dining hall this year (which is provided to resident campers) this year but the cost stayed the same
- Council has closed camps in the middle of our region, rolling hills has reopened, but does not host summer camps. All three camps to the south hold day and res camps. That is ridiculous!
- Our council does offer day camps but in camps that are to far away. They also offer transportation but the pick ups are no where near us, so it does not help.
- Love our Service Unit Day camp!
- Day Camps are run by our Service Units, not our Council
- I wish the Service Units could co-sponsor with the council to have local Day Camps, esp for the younger girls.
- Our day camp is run by the Service Unit, not council and it's fabulous!
- Day camp in our area (there are multiple ones offered through out our council due to the great size) is dependent on the Camp Directors. Some years we just don't have anyone willing to do it because it is such a huge job. There is little support from council to organize it on the service unit level.
- Way too far for day camp
- It's too far to go for day camp over 1 hour one way
- Council has decreased the amount of day camps and not equally distributed throughout the Denver Metro area. They are more volunteer led and not very many paid counselor camps. These are great camps for the younger girls to be exposed to camps.
- Not that many anymore, it is sad the girls that want to go can't because they is not enough of them anymore.
- Most counties have only 1-3 days of day camp. Our service unit offers a full week long with before and after care. It is held at a college campus.
- For the last two years it has been overcrowded and a disorganized event. Food has been inadequate. Patches and t-shirts were unavailable until October. And no camp pics taken of girls with their unit
- Our council does not offer day camp but our service unit does have a day camp every June. Cost is high for our girls since we are lower income. To offset these costs my co leader and I volunteer as camp leaders for the week and run an age level unit. With this we get one girl free to attend camp and can bring younger tagalongs for free as well. There is a unit offered for just younger siblings which helps tremendously. Although due to schedules if we were not able to volunteer we may not be able to afford for our girls to go
- Martha Johnston is closest summer day camp and is over 1 hour away.... Not do-able..... Manipines used to have day camp, but council does not use it anymore
- All day camp programs are through our service unit. We have a fantastic program, the first week after school is out in the summer. Wish we had more weekend campout opportunities with our service unit.
- Day camps are run exclusively by volunteers. More could be offered to meet the demand if there was a greater investment by the council.
- I believe that some SU's from the Council have their day camps at Council properties...but they are not offered at a Council level.
- Our Service Unit hosts a week-long Day Camp each summer. The cost is $150 and includes transportation to and from camp.
- Due to driving time our Service Unit has it's own day camp for our GS. Girls from other Service Units attend with us.
- Day camps are strictly up to the local service units or areas. This is very little support of training from our council. (there use to be)
- Our town Fort Collins, has a great 16 year tradition of a volunteer run day camp. This year, local council took the camp away from the newest director with no good explanation and is now encouraging us to start again. Hard to get excited when all the council seems to have done is step in and destroy a camp they never supported in the first place.
- Day camps are held by service units
- Our day camps are run almost entirely by volunteers. Volunteers can bring their children to camp for little to no cost. It is a GREAT way to get camp staff BUT it is SO SO much work for the adults!
- Our council does an excellent job providing day camps to the troops.
- Wish these camps had more flexibility in the pick up times.
- Service Units organize day camps as well. Many are much more affordable and convenient but only offered once.
- They offer transportation from San Diego Program Center to Escondido Program Center, but not from Escondido to San Diego. I live closer to Escondido.
- My own girls attend day camp every year and the day camp in my area is immensely popular. But a lot of the other day camps in our area struggle to get enough volunteers and even enough girls to sign up. But unfortunately, I don't know what the difference is between the successful camps and the struggling ones.
- Our service unit offers day camp - more affordable and more fun than any council camp events we've been to.
- I am very confused about day camp options in my council. I believe that the council may sponsor some day camps for metro area troops or special groups. However, there seems to be very little support for rural day camps.
- Cost prohibitive and content doesn't seem compelling enough to pay the price.
- Day camp in our area has been sporadic at best. several years the volunteers were unable to get day camp off the ground with little help from council. Then Council got involved and it was disjointed at best. We participated one year prior to all of the years i have mentioned above. At this time the troop is almost ready to participate in PA level activities but with the history of camp I don't know if the girls will choose to or be interested in it. Girls who are working should not be required to pay same amount as those attending and having fun without a care... so this will also factor into our choice to participate.
- I was unsure how to answer this...we do have day camp in our area, but it is not run by council. It's run by a committee of county-wide volunteers. It costs $100 for 5 days, and transportation is provided. Council does provide grants for girls to attend. However, since it's volunteer run, the camp often fills up on the first day of registration. For those girls who are able to go, though, it's a great week and wonderful opportunity. A very well-run program.
- Our day camp is run strictly by volunteers. Some of them take a week off work to be in the pit of doors.
- Most day camps are held on Dakota County properties as they work better and are much closer.
- My daughter has always enjoyed the day camps she has attended!
- Transportation is offered only on certain weeks, making scheduling more complicated.
- I have enjoyed volunteering at my council Day camp with my grand daughter since she was a daisy (the summer between Kindergarten and First grade) and this year she is a 2nd year Junior.
- Day camps are hosted at the local historic Georgia camp by the Forsyth county service unit and volunteers are expected to pay for working or the program aids must pay to volunteer their time. This kept many of my older girls from volunteering.
- The only council day camp (Mountain House) in our area is an hour away. There is no transportation from our area, only from the Allentown area (which is only 15 min away from the camp), and ONLY for parents who work for the company called "Air Products". Why? Is this company giving GS a kickback?? Why would you offer transportation 15 min away, when girls an hour away have no opportunity for transportation? Also, the program choices are HORRIBLE. They feed into the "girly girl" mentality. Girl scout camp should be about the outdoors, arts and crafts, badge work, and learning outdoor skills. The themes for the day camp are: Spa week, glamour girls, and that sort of thing! The girls are not offered any badgework at all at the day camp. When I asked why at an open house, the answer was that they are not there long enough. Really? My brownies can earn a badge in one to two meetings, but they cannot earn one badge in 5 eight hour days??? In a nutshell, it's just too far to send our girl scouts an hour away... plus they are really not learning any outdoor skills like an outdoor camp should teach them... between price, theme, and no badges, it's not worth the hour long drive... most parents would rather send the girls to local camps instead.
- Too many crafts.
- I have no complaints about the day camps.
- I would love to send my daughter to day camp but there is no transpiration and the hours don't work for me
- The ones that offer less should cost less. They shouldn't all be the same weekly cost.
- We LOVE the day camp, but there is always worry that kids won't be able to go because of availability.
- I would like to see more Day Camps offered. It is a great summer activity for girls close to home.
- They are 1 - 2 hours away. and nothing for older girls.
- Our council does not host a day camp. It is up to each Service Unit to have one
- We had an amazing day camp the past few summers and council closed it down and did not offer it last summer because it didn't make them enough money.
- Large council and some day camps are offered a great distance away.
- Most programs geared toward younger scouts.
- Day Camp was GREAT. The difficulty is getting enough leaders & volunteers.
- We went from 15+ 100% volunteer run and managed Day Camps pre-merger, to the current 2.
- We have a wonderful summer day camp where 400+ girls attend. This camp is completely run by volunteer leaders and parents in our SU (name removed). I teach outdoor cooking all week long and have done so for 6 or 7 years.
- We are so far away from the council Day Camp programs that I am unfamiliar with the cost, etc.
- Council does not provide the camp. Volunteers do.
- Way too expensive!!
- This is my daughters favorite summer camp and favorite Girl Scout activity--WOW camp
- I'm concerned that this information isn't known.
- Since the selling of our local day camp property our Community has seen a drastic dropped in attendance at our Day camp
- Id love to send my girls but two is too expensive for me.