For Parents

Dear Camp Nazareth Parents,

Here at Camp, we are preparing for the arrival of your children.  We continue to ask our Lord Jesus Christ for help in this task so that our children’s Camp experience would draw them closer to Him, that even in a short period of time at Camp they would be transformed by the presence of God in their lives.  This is an incredible responsibility and opportunity, one that we are partners in as Diocese, parents, children, and staff.  In cooperation with one another, by the guidance of the Holy Spirit, our beloved Camp will be everything we, and our children, need it to be.  We thank God for the blessing of this Camp, its founders and benefactors, its previous staff and volunteers, and its campers and their parents.  We have inherited a genuine blessing.  In that spirit of gratitude we eagerly look forward to another wonderful and blessed year at Camp Nazareth.

As we prepare for the arrival of your children we want you to know that the safety and well-being of your children is Camp Nazareth’s primary concern.  Camp provides a safe Orthodox Christian environment in which your children will be well taken care of from the moment they arrive to the moment they leave for home.  We take this responsibility seriously at Camp and we want you to know that we continually look for ways to improve the camp experience by providing the safe environment you expect from us.  We ask that you partner with us in this endeavor by preparing your child for the Camp Nazareth experience.

Before you register for Camp, please be sure to read the information above and be sure to attend one of the informational webinars scheduled for February 20 and February 22, 2024.  On Tuesday, February 20th, 2024 (at 7pm EST) and Thursday, February 22nd, 2024 (at 7pm EST) (prior to Registration opening on March 1), Camp will offer two informational webinars (they are the same webinar, but are being offered twice) about the 2024 Summer Camping Weeks for all our campers, parents, clergy, volunteers and potential Staff. The webinars will include the latest information on our 2024 Summer Camping Weeks including information about the Camp’s facility, kitchen, medical and program plans.  If you miss the webinars you can access an archived version of one of them here!  All campers and their families are encouraged to attend the webinars, but especially any first-time campers and their families!

Click here to register for the February 20th (at 7pm EST) Webinar.

Click here to register for the February 22th (at 7pm EST) Webinar.

At the Camp we provide the safe and peaceful environment as well as an excellent Camp Program.  We ask you to provide children who are prepared to receive all that Camp Nazareth has to offer them.

With that in mind, this page is offered to you as a resource to help you and your child prepare for Camp.

If you have any suggestions of materials you think would be helpful for us to share with other parents and families, please contact Fr. Stephen at campnazareth@acrod.org.

 

Maintaining a Healthy Camp

We are grateful that year-after-year you entrust the Camp with the care of your children.  We take that trust seriously.  Camp 2024 will be no exception.  The Camp Staff consult with the Camp’s Medical Staff on a regular basis.  We continue to review and revise our communicable disease plan, our kitchen and facility procedures, and our programming plan to reflect the most current information we have to ensure we are doing everything we can to make Camp a great experience this Summer for our kids.

Please read the following Policies and Guidelines Reducing Risk BEFORE you register your child for Camp!!  These Policies and Guidelines are what to expect and NOT to expect at Camp this Summer.  These same Policies and Guidelines will also be in the Informed Consent Agreement 2024 that parents/guardians will be asked to sign and return to the Camp after they have registered online.

Here are a few resources we are using to help us prepare for your child’s arrival at Camp that relate to the Coronavirus.

  1. American Camp Association Coronavirus Resource Page 
  2. Association of Camp Nursing Resources 
  3. Center for Disease Control Coronavirus Resource Page

 

Preventing Homesickness

Please read this excellent article by Fr. Michael Nasser, a former Camp Director at Antiochian Village.  It was written to help families prepare their children for camp and to help circumvent potential homesickness.  The article will give you some practical steps to help minimize the impact of homesickness for your children while they are at camp.  As for you parents, sorry you are going to miss your children terribly while they are at camp, but know that we are taking good care of them and their absence is only temporary.

Read Article  

 
A Healthy Camp Begins and Ends at Home

This is an excellent article to read as you help prepare your child to have a great Camp experience.

Read Article

 

Helpful Hints for Preparing your Camper for Camp – The key do’s and dont’s

We encourage all parents to view these top tips of how to prepare your child and yourself for camp.  These tips come from one of the leading professionals in the camp industry, Dr. Chris Thurber.  In short, the tips he offers are the biggest mistakes that we see parents make that in turn make a child’s camp experience more challenging.  Please avoid the pitfalls and let your child succeed at camp by following these helpful hints.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9CgsFqciwg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1S85sTKfkDc

 

Camper Parent Handbook

Please take the time to look through the Camper Parent Information Guide as it contains NEW and IMPORTANT information to help prepare your child (and you) for camp.  Please read the section about Packing for Camp carefully as it contains important information about what to bring to camp and what not to bring.  We often hear from campers that they were unaware of what they could and could not bring to Camp.  The Camp's Dress Code is also provided below as a resource for parents.  Remember that a prepared camper will get more out of their camping experience than one who is not as prepared.

Download Camper Parent Handbook (PDF Format)

 

Dress Code

Download Camp Dress Code Policy (PDF Format)