Tag: best camp ever

News From Camp July 22, 2020

Posted on by Pam Cobb

Dear Families,

We have had a busy and full three days of camp. We got right into activities and now we are on day four, AKA Wacky Wednesday, where the schedule is mixed up a bit. Tomorrow we start our next block of activities so girls will move onto three new activities in camp plus swim time, evening program, rest hour, snack time and meal time.

Just like vacation, we seem to schedule everything around meals! We are active and eating well and
hydrating. Drinking the amazing Harmony Land Water which tastes magical and gives us super powers! All campers have adjusted well to coming through the banquet line and going to their assigned seating as if they have been doing it forever. Sleeping in the cool Maine air is simply delightful (and restful)!

Our Evening Programs, based out of cabin areas, bring a great close. We have enjoyed Name That Tune, Country Creations, Scategories, Jen’s Surprise Skits, Mostest, Sport Rotations. Cabin counselors run the EP and sometimes we combine with social distancing.

Today is the beginning of our two days of testing. We’ll test all our campers and hold our breath until test results come in by next Monday. We feel positive and are cautiouslyoptimistic. No camper or staff has symptoms that would cause alarm. However, we all know, we cannot be too careful. We will continue to do our best practices of COVID protocols. Building lifelong skills at Camp Runoia!

You can find pictures of campers and activities on our Facebook page. We have been posting every night but may not be able to keep up with that schedule. Every day at camp is filled with the events of a week and every week is like a month-ful! 140 people doing a lot of awesome things!

Campers love getting mail. Probably the last mail from home should be mailed out on Saturday August 1. If you want you can mark envelopes with a date on the address (August, 5, 6, 7) if you don’t want your
daughter to get all your mail at once. After August 1, we do not think the mail will get delivered in time for your daughter to get it. We will hand out Camp Stamps from Camp in Touch through Friday August 7 – please do not write on the 7th because we won’t get it until the 8th when we will be organizing campers for the bus and pick up.

Meanwhile, we have two and one half weeks left of glorious summer camp experience. A summer that will last a life time.

Wishing you the very best from Harmonyville!

Love,   Aionur

Update from Camp May 20, 2020

Posted on by Pam Cobb

Update from Camp May 20, 2020

Dear Runoia Families,

Camp means a lot to all of us. “Camp more than ever” has become a saying we repeat throughout the day. We have been working over the past eight weeks with the keen optimism to open camp this summer.

Our Plan to Open:

We plan to open for your children. We know it will be the hardest summer we have ever worked. We know there are risks and we describe them in this letter. Please read and digest the information outlined. Afterwards, we need to hear from you by this Saturday afternoon, May 23 if your daughter(s) will be joining us. If we can pull this off, early next week we will send an enrollment link to those who want to enroll.

It will be a different summer at Camp Runoia, but we are confident that it will still be a special and meaningful summer for your daughters.  This summer, camp is not for everyone and we understand that choice. We love and will welcome you in 2021.

The Story:

It’s May 20, and our plan is to open camp for an abbreviated summer session. We’ve met with all the same medical and testing experts and consultants all the other camps have met with during the pandemic. We believe there is a way through this.  It is a difficult journey with risks. The decision to close or open has been personal for all camps. Many of our camp director friends have made the painstaking decision to “suspend” their 2020 season. A few camps have decided to open. Each camp has its own reasons and process for making its own best decision.

If we are able to open, camp in 2020 will be a different kind of Runoia. As a Camp Runoia family, your opinion matters to us. Please read through this note and check your own feelings. If you think it’s a good idea for your family and a good match for your daughter(s) please let us know you’ll enroll in 2020. Our outline of camp below is based on the information we’ve received from medical experts, other camp directors, ACA guidance, and our understanding of the guidance for opening camps that will be released soon by the State of Maine. Our intent is to run camp by meeting, or exceeding, the best practices and guidelines for operating a resident camp during the current pandemic.

There is no guarantee our camp will be COVID-19 free and there is no guarantee your daughter will not contract COVID-19 while at camp.

Why We Think We Can Do This:

You may wonder why we are going to this effort when other camps tried just as hard and came to the decision to close this summer. We know our campers need camp more than ever. We believe Camp Runoia’s large physical campus, our ability to create and follow systems, our overall numbers of campers and staff being smaller than large camps help us to be positioned for a high rate of success. We have had an outpouring of support from families including two camp parents who are MDs and will join our on site health team. The majority of our key staff say, “We will do anything to make camp happen, tell us how we can help and let’s go!” 

One Session 2020:

Camp would offer one session. It would be a 3-week session July 18- August 8. This is not “first session” or “second session”. This is “Camp Runoia Harmonyville” (CRH). After you analyze your own risk tolerance, we would like to hear from you if you would like to enroll in CRH this summer.

Because of the sessions merging, camper cabin groups would be a different composition than your daughter(s) previous cabin group. This is important to discuss with your daughter. Maybe she has friends you can be in contact with to see if they plan to enroll. Partnering with us in this different summer means we will be focused on your campers and the safety of campers and staff at camp. We will do our best to address your needs while your daughter is at camp but she is our priority.  We will communicate information with you but we cannot take special requests for your daughter this summer.

Testing and Self-Quarantine:

If there is reliable testing prior to camp opening, we will do our best to line up testing, have you monitor and self-quarantine before camp.  Testing costs will be submitted to parent’s insurance when possible. There is no guarantee we will be able to do testing for all.

Testing may not be available when our staff have to arrive at camp in order to prepare for the season. Therefore, there are no guarantees of testing for staff.

On May 18, the Maine testing guidelines expanded to include anyone who suspects they have been in contact with an infected person. This is great news for us. We expect testing to get more reliable and efficient over the next 6 weeks and are hopeful that it does.

Staff and campers will monitor health and practice low-risk exposure for a period of time before arriving at camp and during camp. More details will be outlined in further communication.

Residential Life, Mealtime and Program:

Camp most likely will operate in households (cabins) by age groups and each “end” of camp would be a neighborhood. So, the three neighborhoods would be Junior End, Senior End, and Senior Village/Ocho This is consistent with public health guidelines from the State to mitigate the risk of spreading infection.

Households (cabin groups) will be able to interact with each (counselors and campers) without masks.

Activity program will be scheduled by households for the first part of camp and possibly all of camp. There may be choices within your scheduled area. Some activities may not be able to be offered.  There will not be regular “tag-up”.   We will still offer excellent activities and skill-building opportunities.

Campers and counselors from different households would practice physical distancing or wearing face masks when interacting within their neighborhood for things like Evening Program and Dining Hall use.

The three Neighborhoods (Junior End, Senior End, SV/OCHO) will not be able to interact with each other due to contact tracing guidelines.

Evening Programs, Recreational Swims, Assembly, Flag Raising and End of Session Events will be modified.

There would be no wilderness trips leaving by van. Some trips may be offered on our lake and on our campus.

Mealtime would be with your neighborhood spaced apart in the Dining Hall with your household eating together as a group. Mealtime will be staggered by neighborhoods. Staff will serve campers and campers may have to wear masks in a buffet line (with distancing) as they are served (more like cafeteria style).

It may be a “Campstamps” (email service) only summer. We most likely will not be able to post photos for viewing throughout the summer in our Waldo or CampMinder system because we will be busy focusing on the safety of your children.

There may not be any packages except drop shipped specialty foods for food allergies or medical reasons.

Some past practices and traditions are going to have to be let go of this summer so safety can remain our top priority.

Camp in a Bubble: The concept is to have a healthy population arrive at camp and let in as little risk as possible.

  • There will be no visitors allowed in camp.
  • Essential contractors, service people, and delivery personnel will wear masks when on campus and physically distance themselves from our staff and campers.
  • Travel to camp will look different than previous summers:
    • We may restrict camp to auto drop off only.
    • We may or may not offer a bus to camp but we may offer a bus home from camp.
    • We are still working on the concept of flights to camp and if they will be allowed this summer.
    • Parents dropping their child off at camp may be able to take their daughter to a welcome area to meet with the health team, who will be in PPE. It is also possible that your daughter would go to the welcome area on her own to meet the health team and camp staff.
    • One parent may come with one child to the drop off area and other family members, family friends and dogs may not enter the area.
    • Parents and family members may not come into camp or walk around camp.
  • Medical Team – we will have a fully staffed medical team including a resident MD and multiple nurses and/or EMTs.
  • In camp monitoring will likely include daily temperature and symptom checks.
  • If campers develop COVID-19 symptoms, they will be treated in a different area and by a different designated health team than campers with other health and medical needs such as a splinter or twisted ankle.
  • Trips to the Emergency Department will be with an authorized Runoia administrator or health team member who will wear a mask and use best practices for hygiene.

COVID-19 Non-negotiables:

If there is testing used by Runoia, you will be required to test at home before arriving at camp.  A camper testing positive for COVID-19 may not come to camp. There will be no refund of tuition at that point.

We would require you to pick-up your daughter if she tested positive for COVID-19 while at camp. We will have a safe, comfortable isolation unit for your daughter to remain while you are on your way to camp. We are not a hospital or a medical provider in the typical sense of the term. We have camp doctors who are professionals and a professional team but we cannot isolate and treat patients for extended periods of time. Camp tuition will not be prorated.

Maine General Hospital is located nearby in Augusta, Maine and any patients with acute illness will be transported there and a camp personnel will remain with a minor within reason, until a family member can arrive.

Parents would be required to sign an Assumption of Risk realizing their child may contract COVID-19 at camp.

Dates and Rates:

Camp Runoia Harmonyville (CRH) will run from July 18 – August 8. The tuition will be $7500. The deposit and tuition you have paid to date will be applied to CRH and the balance will be due in full June 15, 2020.

In Summary:

We know this isn’t easy. As we communicated previously, there is nothing we want more than to operate camp safely and responsibly for your daughter. The current circumstances require a tremendous amount of consideration to meet the challenges that lay ahead.

Notwithstanding our best efforts, there is a chance that we may not be able to open camp this summer.  There is a chance the Maine Governor will decide in June that camps may not open in July.  If that is the case, we will work out our best options for refunds and do the best we can do. Working toward opening camp this next month will be critical to make it happen and that involves more expenses for supplies and additional team members, hiring requirements and operations.

If you read and process this letter and feel Camp Runoia Harmonyville is the place for your daughter to be this summer, please respond to this email and let us know by Saturday May 23. Early next week, you will be sent an enrollment link to the new session. Please complete enrollment as soon as possible after receiving the link. After Friday May 29, if spaces are still available, we will open enrollment to other families currently on the waiting list.

Graduating campers in 2020, may return for graduation at a later date, perhaps next summer or maybe a special period of time at camp. TBA.

If you choose to take a “leap year” and plan to return in 2021, we will roll over your tuition payment to save a spot. We welcome you and your family for 2021 with so much love. Once a #runoiagal always a #runoiagal. If you want to cancel and you need financial support, please contact pam@runoia.com or call Pam #207-495-2228.

In Closing:

We have all been affected in unimaginable ways by the pandemic and the economic crisis.  We do not take any of this lightly and have been planning two scenarios (open and close) for the past four weeks. In our hearts, we want nothing more than to see our Runoia gals back at camp this summer.  We support your decision, whatever you choose and know that Runoia will be here for our 115th season in 2021.

With warmth and a whole lot of love,

Pam and Alex

For the Runoia Team

 

Update May 6, 2020

Posted on by Pam Cobb

Dear Runoia Families, Greetings from Great Pond.

Safety and Opening Camp in 2020

The safety of our campers, staff and their families and the surrounding Maine communities remain our priority as we sort through the possibility of opening camp this summer.  We know children and families need camp more than ever.  Our hopes are to open camp if we are able to meet or exceed the guidelines set forth by the state of Maine and the American Camping Association.

We remain cautiously optimistic as we work with American Camp Association guidelines (a panel of experts compiled with support of the CDC, American Board of Pediatrics, the Board of Camp Nursing and infectious disease consultants) for safely opening resident camps in 2020. With these guidelines coming out in the next 10-12 days and our industry representatives and lobbyist continuing to meet with Governor Mills’ task force for restarting Maine’s economy.  As of the past week, a few camps have decided not to operate this summer in Maine, including foundations, medical camps, and three resident camps. Over 120 Maine resident camps are still waiting for more information to make a final decision with safety as the top objective.

The American Camp Association will be releasing the ACA Camp Operations Guide for camps by mid-May.  So far they have provided the resource of the table of contents to outline the depth of the finished guide book.  We are eagerly awaiting the guidelines.

Testing

Availability of accurate testing would be a game changer for our ability to safely open camp. Two of our peers in camping have connections with labs who say they can get us tests. How testing campers before arrival at camp will roll out logistically is another puzzle we are working on. If any Runoia parents are involved in testing and have a way to connect us with quality tests, please contact pam@runoia.com or call #207-495-2228 to connect. Without testing, we can rely on diagnostic information from families prior to camp and checking and monitoring for symptoms upon arrival at camp and implement contact tracing guidelines.

Preparation and Timeline for Camp 2020

We meet daily with other camp owners and directors and our Runoia team, medical consultants and industry representatives. We are working through scenarios including all aspects of running a safe camp parallel with the COVID-19 pandemic. Alex and I connect every day working on our plans for camp.  We have two doctors who have volunteered to step in to help guide the Runoia Health Team this summer. Both doctors plan to live at camp for part or all of their assigned session.  We have a team meeting with them scheduled for mid May.

We have been told we will have more information in the next 10-12 days from the state of Maine and ACA.  We will share with our families and staff as soon as we have the final details of our plan. Meanwhile, in addition to these emails, you can find weekly updates on our website: www.runoia.com on our COVID-19 banner at the top of the page. We recognize some families will decide that camp will not be part of their plans this summer. If so, we hope camp will be in your plans for next summer.

Tuition and Refund/Rollover

You may have questions about refunds and tuition rollover.  As you know, we work on camp all year. The past nine months have been busy for our full -time employees and our summer staff who work with us in the winter to contribute to the next summer. Financial obligations have been made throughout the year on mortgages, taxes, licenses, maintenance of buildings and grounds, payroll, renovations, equipment loans and purchases, operating expenses, pre-paid expenses, program improvement, horse care, and ironically, an addition to our camp Health Cabin.  There is no insurance coverage for this pandemic for loss of, or interruption of, business income.

We recognize that everyone’s situation is different.  Some families have experienced reduced income, and others have had financial disturbances. We know everyone has been affected.  We are thinking of you. Whatever you are able to do for Runoia is appreciated. If you are able to roll over your tuition for next summer, that will be a great help to ensure camp can continue to operate at our very best. If you are able to donate a part of your tuition to camp’s operations thus far this year, we would be so grateful. If you need a full refund of tuition paid, we will take care of you with love.

We know camp is a very important priority for many families. For 113 summers Runoia has persevered through world wars, the Spanish flu, polio outbreaks, the Great Depression and multiple recessions. In our hearts we want camp to open this summer – we want to see our campers and allow them to just be children at summer camp; their summer camp.

We are holding onto hope, planning and waiting some more. We are exercising our best patience. We appreciate the support many of you are sending us.

Sincerely,

Pam

For the Runoia Team

Camp Runoia’s COVID-19 Mid-Week Update for April 15

Posted on by Pam Cobb

I speak for all of us at Runoia when I say we are thinking of all of you during another week of self-quarantine and social distancing. We know you are continuing to do your best during this challenging time. Our hearts go out to families and others outside of our camp community who have been directly impacted by the pandemic. Additionally, we cheer for our heroes on the front lines; alumnae and current staff who are EMTs, doctors, nurses, PAs, therapists, caretakers, scientists, firefighters, police and paramedics – we cheer you every day with a big “Bo Bo” from Runoia.

As you have been following the news and reading articles about schools, sports and festivals being postponed or canceled, we know you are also thinking through the scenarios of camp this summer. We wanted to share with you what our current thinking is and know that twelve weeks from now is a long time considering what has transpired in the past few weeks.

Every day I talk, work and plan with Alex. We are meeting regularly with people from our camp organizations and with our camp director peers.  We are following the CDC and governors’ announcements. The American Camp Association is convening a panel of experts including the US CDC, American Board of Pediatrics, and the Camp Nursing Association to help us implement best practices for operating camp safely this summer.

Meanwhile, we are building our own best practices, developing new health and hygiene protocols, planning safe programming for camp and working to open on Great Pond this summer for Runoia’s 114th season. Camper and staff safety is our highest priority. Camp Runoia is a community bigger than any one person, a place where being unique while simultaneously belonging, an experience that builds life skills and s a long time partner with families.

We expect to make and communicate decisions about this summer’s camp schedule by the middle of May. Since information and guidance is changing daily, we feel it is still too soon to make the best decisions about this summer. However, here are the three scenarios we can envision at this time:

Our first and best case scenario is that we may be able to open as scheduled with new best practices.

A second scenario is we may open a little later and still run modified length sessions; following best practices and health and hygiene protocols.

Finally, if we are forced to not open camp, Camp Runoia will be there in its biggest Blues and Whites for everyone in 2021. We will provide 2020 graduating seniors the chance to come together to have their special time. In the unimaginable event that camp does not open this summer, our aim is to partner with you regarding the financial implications of this pandemic.

We are proceeding with the intent of camp opening in late June. These scenarios may raise other questions for you and we are here for you. Feel free to reach out to pam@runoia.com or alex@runoia.com or call camp #207-495-2228

The online and virtual connections with all of you through Facebook Live campfires, Zoom Mostest Evening Programs, Youtube activities, and more has been energizing for us.

Thanks for your support and outreach.

Thinking of everyone and cheering you on!

Pam
For the Runoia Team

Happiness and Smiles

Posted on by Pam Cobb

From my friend Joy, posted on Runoia’s blog with Joy’s permission:

COVID-19 and Happiness- A Strategy For Everyone

Mother Teresa said “peace begins with a smile.” Researchers report the facial muscles used in creating the simple act of smiling triggers special brain neurotransmitters that release endorphins and immune boosting T-cells. In fact, the simple act of smiling lowers our stress hormone called cortisol, and produces hormones that stabilize our blood pressure, improve our respiration, reduce our pain level, relaxes our muscles, speeds up our healing, lowers our chance of depression, and creates a change to stabilize our entire mood.
Did you know that it takes 62 muscles to frown and only 26 muscles to smile… so then why don’t smile more often?
Resilient people know the importance of taking positive actions to enhance their mental status. Would you like to practice a simple goal and watch its powerful effects during the COVID-19 pandemic?
Goal: Commit to 5 smiles a day.

Keep a record of incidents during the day that make you smile. Interestingly, you will notice that the sheer fact of changing your focus and “looking” for things that make you smile, will actually stimulate you to witness increasing items that make you smile. Give it a try !

Copywrite: Joy Miller, PhD, LCPC, MAC

The Art of the Handwritten Camp Note

Posted on by Pam Cobb

The camp experience at Runoia is profound in many ways – spawning independence, building self-esteem, learning new activities, developing skills in sports and so on. One of the rarely touted benefits of sleepaway camp is practicing and enjoying handwritten notes.

I grew up in the 1960s and the thank you note was a required skill. One year on my birthday my grandmother sent me a paper back about Helen Keller and an unsigned check for $5. To deposit the check in my savings account, I had to write her a thank you letter for the book and the check and enclose the check so she would sign it and return it. This all happened at the speed of molasses in January, but, eventually it happened. Thank-you letters were a must in my family. The skill has been passed onto my daughter and she expects her three girls to write thank you notes. I’m always amazed at the care and thought they put into those notes.

Back in the day at camp, campers were required to write on the back of a paper newsletter every week. Counselors made sure those newsletters were written, put in a “SASE” (self-addressed stamped envelope) and sent home. We were pretty sure this happened at the speed of the Pony Express because it was at least 5-6 days before parents received those newsletters in their mail box.

Still, to this day, letters received and sent at camp are a joy. Campers pin their notes from their family and friends on their bedroom wall and parents save many notes, especially the ones with the circled tear “this is my tear as I miss you so much”. And the letter would go on to talk about different scenarios around camp, what she accomplished, personalities of friends, something funny or gross (most likely a clogged toilet that overflowed) that happened at camp.

Unplugging and face to face contact is only part of the side-benefit to camp. Campers soon realize you have to write letters to get letters. We encourage parents to send a note to their daughter before camp even starts so she has mail on her first day at camp. Campers immediately write home. Campers send a flurry of letters to their friends at camp and at home and wait in anticipation for a letter like a slow-motion volley in tennis. Although penmanship doesn’t matter, campers are practicing writing through camp letters. A bonus is the hand drawn sketch of roommates, the camp dogs, a horse or sailboat. Camp seeps into the letters and tells its own story.

The art of letter writing lives on through camp. Be on the lookout for a hand written thank you note and a bevy of camp letters in your MAIL box this summer.

Aionur

Community and Camp and Connecting

Posted on by Pam Cobb

Everything about camp is about building community and becoming part of something bigger than just yourself: practicing empathy, inclusiveness and kindness. Being humble when that “oh no” moment happens. Picking up the pieces, reaching out to those you may have affected and reconnecting. At Runoia we also connect with our local community, our Maine community and stay partnered with parents, families, grown up campers, alumnae and more.

We reach beyond Runoia to our local community and they are changed by who we are, too.   Runoia brings a global presence to our small town in Maine. Typically, we have 7-12 different countries represented at any one time at Runoia and they get to know our local area. Parents shop, eat, stay. Campers get out of camp on trips to the Maine coast and to the mountains. Staff enjoy the local area and Portland as well as the peaks of Maine’s mountains and from its rock bound coast to its lakeside villages. People know of Maine because of camp and often Belgrade Lakes, Maine becomes near and dear to their hearts.

Runoia is known in our community from our youngest campers riding in the July 4th parade, our presence at our local farm CSA, our involvement with organizations like the Great Pond Yacht Club, volunteering for pick up on ocean beaches, the Yarmouth Clam Festival, the Belfast Lobster Fest, the Belgrade Library 5 K or the local Aqua Fest, Eyes on the Water/Invasive Plant Lookout, Loon Count — no matter the occasion, Runoia girls get out and help others.  We collect food for our local food pantry and partner with World of Change to help others.

Our alumnae have started business in Maine, bought businesses in Maine, go to college and work in Maine.  Whether it’s Maine Magazine, the Portland Racket Club, Sherman’s Book Store, Sugarloaf, Bowdoin, Bates, Colby, UMO/UMF, the Botanical Gardens, massage therapy, construction companies, education and STEM, teachers and administrators in public and private schools, State and National Parks, there are Runoia alumnae scattered working all over the state!

Many alumnae have taken residence in the summer on Great Pond and the surrounding lakes and some alumnae have bought property in Maine and relocated here to raise their families. Campers become connected to Maine in some way forever and Maine camps connect the world to Maine.

 

 

Choosing Summer Camp – Guest Blog by Alicia DeHart

Posted on by Pam Cobb

As a former camper and summer camp counselor I immediately knew that my children would attend summer camp.  As a director at a girls’ summer camp I thought choosing a summer camp for my daughter would be a breeze.  With more than ten years working at a Maine summer camp I had more information about summer camp options than other parents researching summer camps.  I thought this would help me filter through the options to find a final choice rather quickly.  I soon realized that choosing summer camp wasn’t any easier for me than other moms and dads searching for their child’s summer camp.

While I had more information about camps and connections with various people in the camp industry, I was just a mom trying to make the best choice for her daughter.  Choosing summer camp for my daughter was filled with many of the same considerations that families across the country are working through as well.  Our decision process was guided by my purpose of choosing summer camp.  Then the things my daughter and I valued in summer camp.  And finally, our family schedule and other family dynamics.

Why Choose Summer Camp?

As someone who has spent three-fourths of her life at summer camp attending camp is an obvious choice.  However, many of my friends didn’t grow up attending summer camp.  So, their first question was, why choose summer camp?  While I was answering their questions, I quickly realized why my daughter wouldn’t attend the girls camp where I am a director.  This decision was easy, but it didn’t make the decision-making process any easier.

To me summer camp is an opportunity for campers to gain independence and a greater sense of self.  It’s a time away from parents to learn and explore under the guidance of summer camp counselors.  Summer camp is one of the greatest opportunities we as parents can give our children.  I wanted my daughter to have the true camp experience where she could be just another camper.  I felt she deserved the opportunity to have her own adventures just like I had when I was a young camper.

The Value of Summer Camp

The value of summer camp doesn’t come in its price tag.  The value of summer camp comes in the little details found in its values and philosophy.  I knew that I wanted my daughter to experience a camp similar to the camp where I work.  A camp where simple living, independent choice, and a sense of community guides daily life at camp.  I was surprised when my daughter wanted similar things.  She felt strongly about an all-girls camp.  I am sure this was partially because it’s the primary summer camp experience she’s had.  There’s likely an equal part for her choice of a girls’ camp because it guaranteed her younger brother wouldn’t attend camp with her in the future.  She’s an independent spirit so I fully understand her choice in not wanting to share her camp experience with anyone from home.  Especially not her brother.

When discussing camp with my daughter it was very apparent that she wanted an opportunity for a “trial” experience.  She was excited about the opportunity to have “her own camp.”  But she wasn’t quite ready to fully jump in with both feet.  Runoia’s Harmony Land Camp program was the perfect fit.  This shortened summer camp experience provided her an age-appropriate residential camp experience.  It also solidified her desires for an all-girls program with a strong focus on the outdoors.  And there were enough arts options to ensure her creative spirit was never bored.  After Harmony Land she was all in.  Five summers later and she hasn’t looked back.

Choosing Summer Camp for Your Family

The variety of programs and options can make choosing summer camp a complicated process.  However, choosing summer camp for your family schedule and dynamics can make everything more complicated.  One major consideration for us was camp dates because of the school calendar in the southeast United States.  There are summers that school begins before Maine camps are finished.  Due to this a half-summer session was a must.

An unexpected aspect of being a camp mom is the level of communication and individual attention Runoia families receive. The owner/director, Pam, took the time to speak with me about the Runoia experience and answered all of my questions throughout the enrollment process.  The level of attention we’ve continued to receive as a Runoia family has been amazing.  My daughter’s face lit up when she first received a letter from her camp pen pal and welcome post card from Alex.  Now she has the opportunity to do the same for new younger campers.  And my daughter now anticipates her birthday postcard in October!  The connection to summer camp truly continues year-round.

Choosing Summer Camp as A Camp Director

Sometimes being a summer camp director gets in the way of being a camp mom.  The summer season is crazy for all camp directors- our attention is on the amazing campers who create our camp community.  Due to this I knew I had to fully trust the leadership team for my daughter’s summer camp.  As a camp director who speaks with parents on a regular basis, I think this is the most important aspect of choosing a camp for your child.  As parents we are sending our most prized possession away for an amazing experience.  We must fully trust the people who are going to be responsible for them.

Here is where I have an advantage.  I met Runoia Director and Owner Pam very early in my years as a camp director.  As a young director I admired her for her integrity and commitment to summer camp.  As a mom I knew I could trust everyone at Runoia because I knew Pam was leading them.  2020 will be my daughter’s fifth summer as a Runoia girl. Directors Pam and Alex and the rest of the Runoia team haven’t ever let me down.  And more importantly, they’ve gotten to know and supported my daughter like she’s one of their own.  They’ve given her all I could have ever asked for in a summer camp experience and so much more!

 

“Remember who you are and what you represent.” 

Posted on by Pam Cobb

Jody Sataloff  – Guest Blog

“Remember who you are and what you represent.”  Back in my camp counselor days in the early 70s (good grief, was it really that long ago?), this was the abiding ethic, the ever present rule of law, that Betty Cobb expected us  to live by.  Anytime we left camp proper she sent us off with that reminder.  We all rolled our eyes and scoffed at this repeated admonition.  I suspect that most, like me, didn’t appreciate the value of those words until we were true adults with kids of our own. 

Remember who you are and what you represent.  Those eight words pack a punch.  For me, they pretty much represent the myriad of life lessons I learned at Camp Runoia.

  1. Who are you, and who do you want to be?  Are you a leader?  Are you a risk taker?  Are you an optimist? Are you kind, empathetic, generous?  Runoia taught me to try and be all those things.  I might have been one of them when I arrived there….I hope I was many by the time I left.  I remember the thrill as a young counselor of being in charge of my first camping trip with young girls — that rushing sense of responsibility, the new feeling of a sort of power to be in charge of the kind of experience others would have.  And I remember the nervousness of leading my first overnight sailing trip, recognizing the risk of all that could go wrong, but forcing myself to charge into the experience with enthusiasm.  I remember being stuck on a rainy day in the boathouse with a class of young sailors, miserable with the weather and being “grounded…and realizing the importance of putting a sunny side on the experience and coming up with games like Dr. Knickerbocker and Pin the Telltale on the Sail.  I remember wanting nothing more than a quiet rest hour to myself and having a 5th shacker suffering from homesickness need comfort that took up the entire hour.  Wonderful growth, wonderful life lessons.
  2. We are all part of something bigger, be it a camp, a family, a place of employment, a school….and when we are out in the world, our actions reflect back on that bigger thing we are part of.  It’s important to remember that, that what we say and what we do has a giant ripple effect and we have a responsibility to those to whom we are attached in one way or another.  We represent them.  We are obliged to do it well.
  3. Throughout our lives we will encounter one tough situation after another.  It’s not the ones we walk away from that are remembered.  It’s the ones we face, and how we choose to face them.  Remember who you are and what you represent.  For me, going through life, recalling these words, I try to reach deep inside myself and locate the strong girl/woman Runoia  helped me to become.  I try to make decisions based on that strength and on the good judgement I learned to try to use in life.  While at camp you had no choice but to become flexible, learn to make compromises while you were living in close proximity to others, combat fear to try new things, be kind and caring all along the way.  In other words, you learned to be responsible.  And learning this at camp, it was all important to me when I had kids of my own to instill this same sense of responsibility, this same sense that we do not walk through life alone, that our steps have consequences on all whose lives we touch, that we owe it to them, to our families, our friends, our co-workers, our communities to take those steps with courage, with strength, with compassion, with grace.

 

I carry Betty’s phrase with me throughout both my personal and professional lives.  Whenever my kids walked out the door, I heard it emanating from my mouth.  I have it in my head when I speak or act in public.  It is just one of the many Runoia building blocks that have hopefully made me a better person than I ever could have been without it, without Runoia.

 

 

 

Camp Runoia summer sisters

Posted on by Alex

As families travel to see loved ones in faraway places and gather around the table to celebrate the Holidays we are reminded of our camp ‘family’ the summer friends that sit deep in our hearts. Many of the people we are close to at camp live far away, some are even separated by a whole ocean. Most of our campers don’t get to see their shack mates through the year and miss those friends dearly. They often refer to their camp friends as their ‘summer sisters’ as that is how close the relationship feels. Even as adults our camp cohorts are geographically dispersed and missed greatly through the ‘off’ season. As the Camp Runoia song says the people you spend your ‘long summer days’ with definitely become ‘old friends for always’.

The bonds that you make at camp are unlike any others. Sharing day to day living, successes, frustrations, time by the campfire or in a tent under the stars just can’t be replicate by sharing a math class at school!

Social media is a connecting force for our older girls, Instagram, snap-chat, face time and text groups keep them in touch when they are not at camp. It is interesting that relationships generated in our tech free world at camp are nurtured through the ease of communication via technology when we can’t be together. It’s fun for our Runoia girls to share parts of their everyday non camp life with their besties from the summer. Our alumnae facebook page is bustling with activity especially when old photos are shared with a call out of ‘who is that?’. They generate interactions and the sharing of stories and ‘remember when’s…’ It is amazing what people remember even when camp was many, many years ago.

Recently a camp mom emailed to get the contact information for her daughter’s entire cabin group which included friends in Europe. A life milestone Bat Mitzvah celebration warranted the attendance of all of her daughters camp friends. Long after their camping days are done so many Runoia friends share other big life events together. Another Mom of a younger girl asked about addresses so that her daughter can send homemade Holiday cards to her shack mates.

Camp is so much more than just a few weeks of doing incredible activities in a beautiful location. It is friendships that last a lifetime, relationships that truly have deep and meaningful value. Camp is where many people make their life friends and truly have their ‘summer sisters.’