Should You Send Your Child To Camp Hazen YMCA?
Yes, definitely! Why? Because kids return from camp more confident and inspired to try new things, be better friends, and take pride in what they do.
As a result of being with counselors who are such positive role models, your camper will better understand what is right and what is wrong, and have the skills to cope with various school and life situations.
The Camp Hazen Experience encourages kids to be themselves, live with integrity, and achieve their full potential.
Cabin Life Is Fun
Each cabin group is a family with eight campers and two counselors who ensure that everyone is respected and involved. Counselors guide campers through cabin clean-up, meals, and decision –making regarding activities. Evenings are spent with the cabin group, or village of cabins, in a variety of exciting games, campfires, and all-camp events.
At the end of each day, campers enjoy one of the great traditions of Hazen; a counselor-led “cabin chat” that covers daily reflections, personal values, and future dreams.
Hazen’s Five Villages Give Campers A Sense Of Belonging.
Cabins are assigned based on gender identity, grade, and cabin mate requests. We also take in to account new/returner, age, home town and additional needs. Families can rank their preference in type of cabin from Girls+, Boys+ and All Gender.
| Juniper & Maple | younger campers | entering grades 3-7 |
| Spruce & Tamarack | older campers | entering grades 8-9 |
| Oak | teen campers | entering grades 9-10 (2 Week Sessions only) |
Campers may request having a friend in their cabin when they register. Request must be mutual and of the same grade. As returning campers know how easy it is to make friends with kids in other cabins, we do give preference to request from first time campers.
Cabin Options:
We will still offer our traditional housing options as outlined below:
- Boys+ Cabin: This is the same type of cabin we have always offered for campers that select ‘male’ on our registration form. Boys regardless of sex assigned at birth as well as transgender and non-binary campers who feel they belong in this space.
- Girls+ Cabin: This is the same type of cabin we have always offered for campers that select ‘female’ on our registration form. Girls regardless of sex assigned at birth as well as transgender and non-binary campers who feel they belong in this space.
In addition, we will now offer this third housing option for all our villages:
- All-Gender Cabin: Housing for all. For campers that don’t want to be in a traditional ‘gendered’ cabin for any reason, maybe they want to have a cabin mate request of a different gender, such as their friend, sibling or cousin or they have not felt safe in a specifically gendered space, or maybe they just want to try something new. This includes campers whose identity may or may not fall into the male-female binary, including allies who would be interested in living in an all-gender space.
Daily Schedule
| 7.00am | Sunrise Club (optional morning activity) |
| 7.30am | Reveille |
| 8.00am | Flag Raising Ceremony (Med Call) |
| 8.15am | Breakfast |
| Cabin Clean-up | |
| 9.45am | Skills Activity Class #1 |
| 11.00am | Skills Activity Class #2 |
| 12.30pm | Lunch |
| Siesta | |
| 2.15pm | Skills Activity Class #3 |
| 3.30pm | Skills Activity Class #4 |
| 4.45pm | Beach Party (Health Lodge Drop In) |
| 5.40pm | Summer Summit - Village Meeting |
| 6.00pm | Dinner |
| Flag Lowering Ceremony (Med Call) | |
| 7.00pm | Evening Activity |
| 8.30pm | Showers & getting ready for bed |
| Cabin Chat | |
| 9.30pm | Lights out (younger campers) |
| 10.00pm | Lights out (older campers) |
Do Campers Miss Home?
Missing home is a natural feeling and our counselors and staff are here to help. Camp is a safe place, and getting over homesickness is an important part of the camp experience. It helps campers build their self-esteem and develop a sense of independence. Our caring staff help campers understand it is possible to feel two different things at once, and that it is okay to miss home while enjoying all the fun new activities they are trying and friends they are making.
The staff will work with each individual child throughout their stay at camp and will keep you informed of any concerns that they have about the overall health & wellbeing of your child.
Health Care at Camp
There is a Registered Nurse in the camp Health Lodge at all times throughout the summer. All of our healthcare staff provide care for campers under orders from the camp physician. In case of emergencies, campers and staff are taken to the camp physician or the local emergency treatment facility. Parents will always be contacted should there be an urgent medical concern.
Safety at Camp
Safety is always a top priority at Camp Hazen YMCA. In fact, our first two rules at Hazen are 1. Have fun and 2. Be safe! We work tirelessly to provide the safest programs, facilities and staff that we possibly can. We have a long history of running an extraordinarily safe camp, and we will continue to do so this summer. It’s important for your child to know who the trusted adults at camp are if they feel unsafe or uncomfortable. We encourage you to talk to your child and explain that they should feel comfortable coming to their counselors with anything that is bothering them, just like they would to you at home. Their Village Director is also someone that they can come to with questions while they are at camp.
Camp Hazen YMCA is considered a Pioneer in Camping with the American Camp Association for its long history of dedication to youth development. The American Camp Association (ACA) is the leading authority for summer camps and youth development. They work to preserve, promote, and improve the camp experience. Camp Hazen YMCA is an accredited member of the ACA, and as part of our membership, Hazen must adhere to strict guidelines which include the successful completion of both on-site visits and paperwork reviews.
Behavior at Camp
As a close-knit community, Camp Hazen expects each camper to respect themselves and others at camp, as well as the staff and facilities. Everyone in the Hazen community, including campers and staff, are expected to behave responsibly and appropriately at all times.
The staff will work with individual campers to modify inappropriate behaviors and will notify parents when necessary. The Camp Director may choose to dismiss a camper if inappropriate behavior does not improve.
Behaviors that may result in discipline or dismissal from camp include, but are not limited to: bullying, bad language, threats or fighting and possession of tobacco, drugs or alcohol.