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Family Handbooks

Catoctin Quaker Camp – Family Handbook 2025
Opequon Quaker Camp – Family Handbook 2025
Shiloh Quaker Camp – Family Handbook 2025
Teen Adventure Quaker Camp – Family Handbook 2025

Packing Lists

Catoctin Packing List

Opequon Packing List

Shiloh Packing List

Teen Adventure Packing List

Camp Directions

Catoctin

Opequon (New Location in 2024!)

Shiloh

Teen Adventure

Health & Safety

Medical Forms

All medical paperwork can be found in our registration portal on CampBrain. Please log in to your account to download, fill out, and upload the camper’s medical forms.

Some of the medical forms require a physician’s signature, so please plan accordingly. We will need a physical that is within the 12 months of the start of your camper’s session. These forms are also required to give your camper medication, even over-the-counter medication.

Physical Exam Form (For all campers & families)

Medication Administration Authorization Form (for Catoctin campers & families ONLY)

Ticks

We facilitate regular tick checks throughout each session. Click the links below if you’re interested in
more information about ticks and Lyme disease and how to reduce your camper’s risk.

Information about ticks and tick-borne illnesses in the US (CDC)

Information about Lyme disease (CDC)

How to prevent and avoid tick bites (University of Rhode Island)

Food & Allergies

Every camper will have access to healthy food choices that are safe for them to eat, though allergies and dietary restrictions may reduce options available to them at each meal. We regularly work with families to accommodate a wide range of eating habits but cannot guarantee that all preferences can be met. We ask questions about your camper’s diet during the registration process, so our staff can be informed and prepared to nourish all members of our camp communities. Feel free to reach out to info@bymcamps.org with specific dietary or allergy questions.

Medications

BYM Camps can only administer prescription drugs in accordance with direction from licensed medical personnel. BYM Camps must have a doctor’s written direction on the original labeled bottle of medicine. Camper parents / guardians must supply the camp with enough medicine for the time the camper attends one of our camps.

Physical and Behavioral Requirements

In order to be safe and successful at BYM Camps, campers must be able to move daily on foot over uneven and natural terrain. They must be able to sleep outside in rustic wooden structures with other campers and staff. They must be able to lift and carry a backpack for hiking and trips, as well as eat provided meals and hydrate regularly. We ask that all campers follow directions and participate willingly in camp activities, daily chores and community life activities. Campers must refrain from violence, verbal assault, bullying or any similar behavior.

Additionally, in order to be a part of the BYM Camps community and to live at camp, all campers & families must read and sign (and then upload into your account) the BYM Camps Community Agreements form. If you have any questions or concerns about your camper’s ability to meet these requirements or abide by these agreements, please contact us immediately.

Community Agreements – BYM Camps 2025 (For all campers & families)

Cabin Group Assignments at BYM Camps

When making Cabin Group assignments, our overriding priorities are the safety and belonging of every camper. In general, we make Cabin Group assignments based upon camper ages and preferences whenever possible. Overall, we aim to set every camper up for a successful and fun time at camp.

Learn more about BYM Camps’ values on Gender and Inclusivity.

Our Cabin Options

During the registration process, campers and families will be asked to select both a preferred cabin-option and to select all cabins in which they would feel comfortable being housed. They must make at least one choice. They will also have the choice of selecting a second option that they’d also be comfortable with but this does not need to be filled out. Because there are real physical space limitations (we only have so many cabins at camp), we may not be able to offer every cabin choice during every session at every camp. If, for any reason, a camper has made only one choice and that cabin choice is not available, our staff will reach out to your family to find a solution that works for you before the session starts.

The Gender-Inclusive Cabin option is available to all interested campers and families. If a camper feels that this cabin option would be good for them for any reason at all, they are welcome to choose it. We will not place a camper in any cabin configuration without their expressed comfort with that cabin configuration.

All of our cabin groups are designed to be inclusive rather than exclusive. For example, a transgender camper who would feel most at home in a Female+ or Male+ cabin is welcome to select that option. The same is true for a cisgender camper who might want to be in a Gender-Inclusive cabin. We are proud to be camps for kids of all genders, where campers are free to make friendships with others regardless of gender, in and out of their cabins.

Cabin Choice FAQs

Why do you offer a gender inclusive cabin?

First and foremost, we’re proud to be a camping program that welcomes and affirms campers across all gender identities. Providing an inclusive, all-gender cabin option is important for creating a welcoming and affirming experience for all campers, particularly for campers who identify outside of the gender binary of male or female.

Secondly, after many conversations and extensive survey data, it is clear that campers, families, and staff want this additional option. For example, non-binary campers now have an additional cabin choice, rather than selecting between two binary options, neither of which might feel right for them.

Lastly, friend requests between campers of different genders and campers who simply want a multi-gender cabin experience can now be accommodated more often, increasing our ability to maximize camper safety and belonging.

Who can stay in a gender-inclusive cabin?

The gender-inclusive cabin option is available to all interested campers and families.

How will you determine a camper’s cabin placement?

In general, we do our best to make cabin group assignments based upon camper ages and preferences whenever possible. During the registration process, campers and families will be asked to select a preferred cabin option. They will also have the choice of selecting a second option that with which they would be comfortable. This second choice is optional; it may be left blank. If a camper is not able to be housed in their first or second choice, or if they are uncomfortable with their placement, they can choose to bunk with an age-group above or below their current placement.

When we create cabin groups, we aim to set all campers up for a successful and fun time at camp. We do allow friend & cabin mate requests in the registration process, and we do our best to honor them, but we do not guarantee that every request will be fulfilled. There are many factors that go into the creation of cabin groups, and one of them is the very real limit of how many cabins we have and how many campers are legally allowed in each cabin. One of the main purposes of attending camp is to make new friends and grow. There are many large-group and free choice activities where campers can spend time with those outside their cabin group.

Could my camper be placed in a gender-inclusive cabin if they did not select this as a first or second option?

No, this is an opt-in program. We will not place a camper in a Gender-Inclusive cabin without their expressed interest and/or comfort.

If I pick the Gender-Inclusive cabin, how will that impact my camper’s experience?

The only difference is that Gender-Inclusive cabins are staffed by counselors who have opted in to work with Gender-Inclusive cabins and who represent a mix of genders. Do we need to add something about age here? Cabins are simply a “home base” at camp, and all campers will participate in the many different camp activities, including some with their age-group, their chore-group and others based on individual camper choice.

My camper is trans-identified, or transgender. Do they have to pick the Gender-Inclusive Cabin?

No. We want every young person to select the cabin option that is best for them. Transgender campers are should feel free to select the cabin option that best aligns with their wants and needs.

How will you handle privacy in the Gender-inclusive cabin?

All of our campers, including those staying in Male+ and Female+ cabins, will have access to private changing areas. These could be restrooms and shower stalls in a centrally located bathhouse, or changing stations constructed in or near their cabin.

Who will counselors be in Gender-Inclusive Cabins?

In our hiring process, we give staff the opportunity to identify which cabins they would be comfortable living in and supervising. All staff receive training on the gender spectrum, on promoting positive cabin environments, and on following and enforcing privacy and safety rules. Counselors are then placed in cabins based on what Camp Directing Staff think would provide the best possible experience for campers. There are always at least two staff members assigned to each cabin, and they sleep in the cabins as part of the cabin community.