Summer Camp Parent Resources

If registering before May 1st, only a $100 non-refundable deposit is required at the time of registration to secure a spot in a program. The remaining balance is then due by May 1st. Payment plans are available.

After May 1st, the entire camp program fee must be made at the time of registration.

Any unpaid balances after May 1st will have a $25 late fee applied to your account. Balances must be paid by May 15th or we reserve the right to cancel your registration. Please contact the office if you need an extension.

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A $100 non-refundable deposit is required to secure your spot.  Families may pay out their remaining camp fees over a period of time. All fees must be paid in full by May 1st.  Automatic payment plans are also available at check-out. If booking after May 1st, the full amount will be due.

It is our desire that every child have a chance to attend camp regardless of their financial situation.  That is why why offer financial assistance through our scholarship program.  Applications open in February. Information on how to apply for scholarships can be found on our scholarship page.

Please note: We are no longer a member of the ACE Ohio reimbursement program. ACE OHIO has updated the requirements for Day Camps. They must have an approved Ohio DOE educational curriculum and meet the educational standards set by the State of Ohio. Camp Carl's Day Camp is not intended for educational purposes and no longer qualifies.

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PLEASE NOTE OUR NEW 2024 CANCELLATION POLICY.  WE WILL ARE NO LONGER ABLE TO OFFER CREDITS ON YOUR ACCOUNT IF CANCELLED.

For Day Camp, if we receive your written cancellation notice (sent via email to info@campcarl.life) prior to May 1st, when the balance of camp fees is due, all but the $100 non-refundable deposit will be returned. Written notice received between May 1st and at least 14 days prior to the beginning of the registered session will result in a forfeiture of $75. Cancellation less than 14 days, but more than 7 days prior to the beginning of the session results in the forfeiture of $100. Payments exceeding these fees will be returned. Cancellation within 7 days of arrival will not receive a refund.  

For Overnight Camp, if we receive your written cancellation notice (sent via email to info@campcarl.life) prior to May 1st, when the balance of camp fees is due, all but the $100 non-refundable deposit will be returned. Written notice received between May 1st and at least 14 days prior to the beginning of the registered session will result in a forfeiture of $150. Cancellation less than 14 days, but more than 7 days prior to the beginning of the session results in the forfeiture of $200.00. Payments exceeding these fees will be returned. Cancellation within 7 days of arrival will not receive a refund.  

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PLEASE NOTE: DEPOSITS ARE NOT REFUNDABLE. These forfeitures are in addition to forfeiting your deposit.

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There will be NO EXEMPTIONS of these fees except for verified medical reasons: only after Camp Carl has received written notice from a qualified physician verifying the campers inability to attend due to illness or injury; all but the non-refundable $100 deposit will be returned. Children sent home because of disruptive behavior are not eligible for a refund, nor will they be allowed to attend additional weeks at camp. There will be no refunds for children sent home due to homesickness.

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Please email us at info@campcarl.life to cancel or change a reservation. Include the camper name and camp week you would like to change. All cancellations and reservation changes must be submitted in writing via email. We can no longer process cancellations or changes over the phone.

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PLEASE NOTE OUR NEW 2024 CANCELLATION POLICY.  WE ARE NO LONGER ABLE TO OFFER CREDITS ON YOUR ACCOUNT IF CANCELLED.

For Day Camp, if we receive your written cancellation notice prior to May 1st, when the balance of camp fees is due, all but the $100 non-refundable deposit will be returned. Written notice received between May 1st and at least 14 days prior to the beginning of the registered session will result in a forfeiture of $75. Cancellation less than 14 days, but more than 7 days prior to the beginning of the session results in the forfeiture of $100. Payments exceeding these fees will be returned. Cancellation within 7 days of arrival will not receive a refund.  

For Overnight Camp, if we receive your written cancellation notice prior to May 1st, when the balance of camp fees is due, all but the $100 non-refundable deposit will be returned. Written notice received between May 1st and at least 14 days prior to the beginning of the registered session will result in a forfeiture of $150. Cancellation less than 14 days, but more than 7 days prior to the beginning of the session results in the forfeiture of $200.00. Payments exceeding these fees will be returned. Cancellation within 7 days of arrival will not receive a refund.  

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PLEASE NOTE: DEPOSITS ARE NOT REFUNDABLE. These forfeitures are in addition to forfeiting your deposit.

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If you would like to pay for a camper who is not on your Camp Carl account, instruct the parent of the camper to create an account and register their child but do not make a payment. The registration will then be “pending” in their account. You can then call the office at 330.315.5665 and gives us a credit card over the phone or you can send in a check with the camper’s name in the subject line. Once payment is made the camper’s registration will change to “enrolled”. Please note, this is not a tax deductible donation. If you would like to make a tax deductible donation, you must donate to our General Camp fund. You can make a donation by visiting our Give page.

While there is always a fundamental risk to being at camp, Camp Carl’s number one priority is the safety of our campers, staff, and volunteers. We make sure our safety standards and practices are the best that they can be. The health and welfare of our camp community will always be our top concern.  We are inspected several times each summer by local and state health officials to assure we are maintaining a safe camp environment

It is our hope that every camper will remain healthy and fully able to participate in all aspects of camp life. Just in case, though, Camp Carl’s Health Clinic is staffed by medical professionals 24 hours a day all summer long. We supervise the provision of medication at each meal. If your child is ill or injured one of our camp medical team members will contact the people listed on your Emergency Contact list from your camper's medical form in the order that they appear. So make sure that mom or dad are the first ones listed. If your child is sent home due to a severe illness or an injury (or extreme homesickness), we are not able to offer refunds.

All medications will be dispensed by our onsite Medical Staff during the week. Meds are typically dispensed during breakfast, lunch, dinner, and bedtime. Campers and staff are not allowed to keep any meds in their cabins. Update and check your child's medication in their Health Form by logging into your account here. Please be sure to check in all medications to our Health Staff during Check-In on Sunday.

Please do not pack over the counter medications for your camper. These items are supplied and dispensed by our Medical Clinic upon request.

Homesickness is a reality of overnight camping, but one of the unique experiences of camping is allowing campers to gain a sense of independence. All of our counselor staff go through an extensive staff training before the summer begins that includes dealing with a homesick camper. If a camper is homesick, our counselors will do their best to comfort the camper, if the homesickness persists one of our Unit Leaders will talk with the camper and will connect with parents to find the best strategies for helping the camper through the week. Although we have campers each week who will wrestle with some homesickness, it is extremely rare that a camper will need to be sent home. Campers who stick it out will gain an incredible sense of independence and accomplishment!

The safety of your children is our first priority. We need to know any allergies including food allergies your child has. Please provide these details on your Medical Health form and be as specific as possible with the information. If your campers allergy situation needs detailed instructions, please reach out to our office and we will connect you to our Medical Doctor. Please see below on how we handle food allergies:

FOOD ALLERGIES AND SPECIAL MEALS 

While we do our best to serve meals that the majority of people will enjoy, we understand that they may not enjoy everything. As stated above, we do try to offer a variety of menu options and staples at each meal.  However, because of the nature of how we are set up, as well as Health Dept. guidelines, we simply cannot accommodate every need.

The following is a list of limitations to our meal plans:

Specialized Meals - We are not able to serve individual specialized meals. If a camper brings to our attention that they are not able to eat what we are serving, we will do our best to find something else, but this must be the exception, not the rule.

Food Allergies - We understand that some children who come to Camp have food allergies. We will do our best to assist your camper in this area. We have had to change our policy in accommodating these allergies due to the variations and number of allergies related to food.  We want our campers to be safe and healthy.  The following are our guidelines for food allergies:
Your child must be able to determine what it is they are allergic to: if a camper is lactose intolerant, he/she needs to know all related dairy products to which they will have a reaction. For example, the camper must know that if cheese gives them a reaction, they cannot eat the lasagna. We will do our best to guide them as to what they can eat on our buffet line.  But, please understand we have one kitchen and all foods are prepared in the same kitchen.  We will not be providing specially prepared gluten free / dairy free / vegetarian options from our kitchen.   However, we often have these items on our buffet line each meal.
At the time of check-in, please notify the camp nurse about your child's allergy to make sure it's on his/her health form. We will do our best to make sure your child stays away from those types of foods, but it is ultimately the child's responsibility to watch out for himself/herself.
If you are concerned about your child's food allergy, please call us and we can try to answer any additional questions you may have.

Bringing Your Own Food - Due to Health Department regulations, we are not able to keep and store your child's food in our kitchen. If it is determined that your child will not be able to eat the majority of the food we are serving, you could arrange with us to bring individual meals for your child.  A microwave and refrigerator would be available to them in a public area for them to hold and warm up their food.  You also may send supplemental nutrition bars (i.e.: Power bars, Cliff bars, granola bars) or nutritional shakes in a can (Ensure, Ovaltine, etc.) with your child.

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SAMPLE MENU: Having been in the camping business for 60years now, we  have come to understand what it takes to make campers happy at mealtime. We  work very hard to ensure that all meals are nutritionally balanced as well as  delicious and geared toward their age group.   We pride ourselves in serving real food that they will enjoy.  We offer several options at each meal to  accommodate likes and dislikes, along with staples present at each meal.

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Many children with ADD/ADHD attend camp here and thrive! We handle this medication for campers just as if it were any other medical treatment. Please be sure to note the ADD/ADHD on the Medical Health form and turn in any medications to the Health Center at Check-In.

We are not equipped to handle campers requiring one-on-one attention. Please give us a call in the office to discuss your camper’s specific needs.

Please note, if your child cannot handle large crowds, loud noises, loud music, and lots of activity, camp will most likely not be a good fit. Your child must also be able to do all things independently (dress themselves, shower, brush their teeth, etc) with minimal assistance from staff, follow directions, and stay with a group in order to attend.

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330.315.5665

info@campcarl.life

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Bed wetting is a common reality for many children at camp and several campers wear pull-ups. Some campers, depending on the age, are very self-conscious about this and don’t want anyone to know that they are wearing a pull-up. This is not a problem. Our bathrooms are set up in such a way that campers can put on and take off the pull-up privately. When dropping your camper off, just let the counselor know and they can help keep it discrete. If your child does have an accident at camp, our counselors quietly go back to the cabin after everyone has left and bring the bedding to the nurse to wash. Bedding is brought back to the cabin before anyone comes back.

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Campers do not need to know how to swim to attend.  Non-Swimmers stay in the shallow end of the pool unless they pass the swim test for the deep end. Our camper to counselor ratio is 1:6 and all our counselor get in the pool with the campers.  Of course, there are also lifeguards at the pool.  So, we usually have between 10 -12 trained adults at the pool with the campers.  We also have life jackets available if a child prefers to wear one.  At our lake, everyone is required to always wear a lifejacket.  No exceptions.  And the same goes for lake as the pool, the counselors are in the water with the kids and there are lifeguards in kayaks and on the shore.  When the campers go on their boat ride, they are required to wear a life jacket and there is a lifeguard on every boat (and their counselors are with them). Everyone on our staff is CPR certified.

Cabin Rooming Policies

Grade and Sex/Gender

Our 59+ years of camp experience has taught us that it is best to have campers at the same grade level (or as close as possible) in a cabin or group. We’ve found it is easier to build group unity with campers who are in a similar life stage. We also only put campers of the same sex/gender in cabins together since campers share cabin space. Counselors for each cabin are also the same sex/gender as their campers.

Sexual Identity

Our heart is to truly love all and want to point ALL to the forgiveness and hope we can have in the perfect life,death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We sincerely want everyone to come to camp. Camp Carl also believes our campers contribute to our Christian community and the accomplishment of Camp Carl’s mission through our deeply held beliefs, so it’s important for them to be aware of what we believe to be God’s teaching on sexual identity, which influences our rooming policies.

As set forth in our Statement ofFaith, we believe that in God’s creation sex and gender are synonymous, and that they are determined by an individual’s biological sex at birth. Because of our desire for ALL campers to have an amazing experience while at camp, we are unable (and not equipped) to simultaneously accommodate and care well for campers who will share a cabin together with other campers of differing beliefs and comfort levels on this topic. Specifically, this means campers who:

·       Desire to be called by pronouns different from their sex/gender

·       Proclaim their identity as a non-human species

·       Are transitioning to a different gender from the one given at birth

·       Proclaim their identity to be LGBTQ+(We realize that identity and attraction can be complicated, and may not necessarily preclude your camper from attending camp, so we encourage you to contact us if you have any questions regarding your camper.)

We are grateful for all our camper families and for the trust they give us in caring for their children. Our hearts desire is to never let difficult issues like this cause a division and eliminate love and care for kids and families.

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We recently updated our terms and conditions to include more detailed language in the Media Release portion. We wanted to make sure we captured all the ways we might share your camper's story and that you consent to it. If you do not consent to the Media Release portion, we ask that you still accept the Terms and Conditions and then send us an email at info@campcarl.life to let us know. This alerts us that you do not want photos and videos of your child and we can then alert our Media Team.

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We recently updated our terms and conditions to include more detailed language in the Media Release portion. We wanted to make sure we captured all the ways we might share your camper's story and that you consent to it. If you do not consent to the Media Release portion, we ask that you still accept the Terms and Conditions and then send us an email at info@campcarl.life to let us know. This alerts us that you do not want photos and videos of your child and we can then alert our Media Team. Your child may be asked to wear a special wristband to help ensure that they are not in any of the photos or videos.

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STAY CONNECTED WITH THE CAMP CARL APP

Check out our photo gallery, camp updates, and be notified when new content is available. During the summer, send messages to your camper using Bunk Notes.

GET STARTED TODAY!
1. Search for Camp Carl in the IOS App Store
2. You do not need an invitation code. Login using the same credentials that you use to access your Camp Carl Account.

NOTE: Our mobile app is powered by Bunk1. During the summer, you will have the option to upgrade to a paid package that includes premium features such as facial recognition and Fun Notes. If you choose to upgrade, charges on your card will appear from "Bunk1Summer Camps".

CAMP UPDATES & PHOTO GALLERY WITH FACIAL RECOGNITION

• Choose Free Photo Access bundle to gain access to photos free of charge (last one listed)

• Save Favorite Photos for easy access to pictures of your camper all year-round.

• Upload a profile photo of your camper. Our facial recognition will scan all the uploaded photos and notify you when we detect photos of your camper. **Additional fee**

• Share Photos to social media or email a photo to family. Customize Unique Photo Giftssuch as photo books, mugs, calendars, phone cases, and more. **Additional fee**

• Order high resolution digital downloads or prints. **Additional fee**

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SEND A NOTE TO YOUR CAMPER (BUNK NOTES)

• Send Bunk Notes day or night. We receive a PDF at 10:00am EST each day containing all Bunk Notes received in the last 24 hours. **Additional fee*. All notes are delivered to the camper's cabin after lunch.
  • We do not offer Bunk Replies. Campers cannot reply electronically

If you were prefer to log-in our App using your desktop computer, click here and use your Camp Carl account login in credentials.

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Tours can also be scheduled by calling the Camp Carl Office (330.315.5665), and are available during the week. Once the camp season begins in June, tours will not be given while summer campers are on site.

If you are registering for camp and you see the word Wait List after the camp week, it means that the camp is full and continuing with the registration will place you on a waitlist. The system will still take you through the registration but will not collect a payment from you. Once added to the waitlist, if a spot opens, we will contact you and give you 72 hours to decide if are still interested in the spot. If you decide to take it, our admin staff will enroll you in the week and instruct on how to make your payment. If you decide to pass, the spot will be offered to the next person on the list. If we do not receive a response, you will be removed from the waitlist and the next person will be offered the spot. You can be on multiple waitlists at the same time.

Alternatively, if you first camp week choice is full you can go on the waitlist and then register and pay the deposit on an alternative week. If a spot opens up on your first choice week, your child's registrations and payments from the your alternative week can be transferred.

Although we recommend that every effort be made to allow your camper to stay the entire time so they receive the full camp experience, we understand that sometimes there are special circumstances that require a camper to leave for a period of time. If your camper needs to leave, just fill out an early release form at check in. We will make every effort to have your child ready to go when you arrive. Campers may not return after 8pm. If they will not be able to be back by 8pm, please bring them back the next morning at 8:30am.

Yes, campers are permitted to pack snacks. Please bring them in a sealed container. For the safety of all our our campers, we ask that you do not bring anything that contains peanuts.

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Simply put, the meals at camp are the best! We have been serving meals to kids for almost 60 years now and we have figured out what it takes to make campers (and our staff) happy at mealtime. We work really hard to make sure our food is delicious, nutritious, and life giving. We also take into account that campers will not like every meal, so we offer many options at each meal. Our food service is run by us. We do not farm out to an outside group. We have our own kitchen staff and volunteers who care deeply about hospitality and showing God's love through food service. We've had many campers ask us if we could come make the food at their school- we consider that a win!

Due to Health Department regulations, we are not able to keep and store your child's food in our kitchen. We, however, do allow campers to bring snacks and keep them in the cabins with them to supplement their meals. If it is determined that your child will not be able to eat the majority of the food we are serving, you may send supplemental nutrition bars (ie. Power bars, Cliff bars, granola bars, etc) with your camper. Please send all snacks in a sealed container and do not pack anything that contains peanuts or peanut butter or that requires refrigeration.

What NOT to Bring to Camp

• Any electronic device that can access the Internet breaches our security policy. If discovered by a counselor, it will be collected and stored until the end of the camper’s session.
• In addition, Camp Carl cannot be responsible for lost or broken articles. Please do not bring anything that would break easily or cause loss if misplaced.
• Any web-enabled devices—Cell Phones, tablets, smart watches
• Computers iPads/Tablets
• Handheld video game systems
• Alcohol, illegal drugs
• Tobacco products
• Weapons (including pocket knives and multi-tools)
• Fireworks
• Personal sports equipment (everything you need will be provided for your activities)

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Packing lists are included in the above information under Packing List for Overnight Camp. Please choose the Day Camp button at the top of this website page for the daily packing list!

Campers stay busy at camp! From Team competitions, multiple activities and evening programs to cabin devotional, worship and Bible Study, our day is packed with fun, challenge, and exploration! The day starts with breakfast, then devotional time, two activities, lunch, rest time (this is when mid day electives happen), two more activities, dinner, chapel, big group games and then lights out. Visit our Forms page to download a Typical Day example.

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Absolutely! Campers may submit up to two names for their cabin mate request. The campers requesting each other must be no more than two grades/years apart. While we do our best to honor cabin mate requests, there are sometimes rare occasions where we are unable to accommodate a request. You will be prompted during registration to enter any cabin mate requests you have.  You will need to know the email address of the guardian of the person you are requesting.  The person you have requested must accept your request in order to be linked together in our system and placed together in a cabin. Larger groups can be linked together by creating a chain of requests, i.e. camper 1 requests camper 2, camper 2 requests camper 3, etc..  Please call our office if you have a larger group and need assistance with requests.

Please note: We make every effort to put large groups together, however, the space in our cabins dictates how many we can get all together. Larger groups will sometimes need to be split.

Several are air conditioned.  Our BARC Cabin and our new Treehouse Cabin have AC, however these are only girl cabin options… sorry boys!  Note: the Treehouse Cabin will have an upcharge.  All other cabins are not air conditioned.  Every cabin has fans and windows that open.  Campers are welcome to bring a battery-operated personal fan for their bunk.

Cabins/Yurts are randomly assigned. We do not take specific lodging requests.

If the rain is light and steady, and there is no risk of lightning, campers will still be able to walk to the activities and programs planned for the day.  Our Leadership Team monitors the weather at all times and checks to make sure lightning and heavy rain is outside of the set range around camp.  If lightning does happen to come within the designated range, then we will make sure all the campers and staff are safe inside a building.  We will then proceed with pre-planned activities that are in place in the occasion we need to be indoors.

SAGATUC stands for Seriously Amazing Group Activity That U Choose. Or SAGA for short. We wanted to find a way to give campers more say in what they did while at camp. We used to offer a small sampling of electives that campers could add on to their experience. Electives were very popular and there weren't enough of them for everyone to participate. So we revamped the program to include a mix of both free and upcharged opportunities for campers to choose from. Now every camper can choose their activity during the SAGATUC activity session.*

Campers can only choose one activity. They are all happening at the same time.

We also offer two optional add-ons: a Dinner Trail Ride and an Additional Boating and Tubing time. These optional add-ons are in addition to the SAGATUC electives and are scheduled at a separate time.

‍*Please Note: Equine campers do not participate in SAGATUC electives. Their specialized program will involve much of their day being spent at the Silver Creek Ranch.

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Yes! The whole camp participates in SAGATUC at the same time. So we need to know which activity your camper would like to attend. If you do not choose one, one of the free electives will be assigned to your camper.*

*Please Note: Equine campers do not participate in SAGATUC electives. Their specialized program will involve much of their day being spent at the Silver Creek Ranch.

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Please check the Lost and Found table outside the Worship Center/Gym as you leave on Friday at pick-up. If you realize your camper did not make it home with an item, please call the Camp office at 330-315-5665 and choose option #4 to report the lost item. As you leave your message in the Lost and Found voicemail, please describe the item, name of your camper, the cabin the camper was housed in that past week, your name, and contact number. All left items will be held for one week. Unclaimed items will be donated to charity. If your lost item is found, you will receive a call and/or email that the item was found. The item will be placed in the Welcome Shack at the entrance to Camp Carl. You are welcome to stop by Monday-Friday during business to collect the item. Someone will be there to hand off the items during those hours. Please label all items and make sure that you have all of your camper's belongings before you leave. Please note that Camp Carl cannot be responsible for lost or broken articles.