Everything You Need to Know!

To help you and your camper get ready for camp, see below for a collection of essential resources. If you have any questions, at any time, please feel free to email us at brianmassey@bym-rsf.org, or to call us at 301-774-7663 or 336-301-5210. We can’t wait to see you and your camper this summer!

Forms & Handbooks Directions Health & Safety Gender Camper Directory

Camp Registration Forms

Camp Registration Forms for Summer 2023 are to be completed and edited within our online registration system. All forms are due at the time of registration, and no registration is complete until all forms are signed and submitted.

Registration Login

Handbooks & Guides

Catoctin, Opequon, & Shiloh Family Handbook (2023)
Teen Adventure Family Handbook (2023)

Code of Conduct

Camp Medical Forms

Camp Medical Forms for Summer 2023 will mostly be completed and submitted within our online registration system.

Medical forms can be completed after registration is completed, in order to allow for more up-to-date information as the summer approaches. If you need to edit after submission, or if you have any questions, please feel free to email us at brianmassey@bym-rsf.org, or to call us at 301-774-7663 or 336-301-5210.

Medical Form Login

Catoctin Families:

The state of Maryland requires a separate form for Medication Administration Authorization. Please click below to access the form, fill it out and have it signed by your camper’s doctor.

CQC Medication Authorization Form

Camp Directions

Catoctin

Opequon

Shiloh

Teen Adventure

Health & Safety at Camp

Your Child’s Health and Safety is Our Top Priority

BYM Camps has a team of nurses and medical personnel who are on-site and on-call throughout the summer. We have health and wellness centers at every camp, as well as access to local hospitals and medical professionals. The majority of our seasonal staff are trained in Wilderness First Aid, and many are trained in Wilderness First Responder / EMT.

Please read through the following information to ensure a safe and healthy summer for your child.

Physical Exam Form & Immunization Records

Your child’s physical exam form and immunization records from their primary physician is a necessary part of the application to camp and is DUE before they arrive at camp. Without knowledge of your campers’ needs, it is very hard for us to take the best care we can of your child. Please ensure that you or your physician’s office send us a copy of the information outlined in the Medical Form found in the registration system, prior to arriving at camp. You may use our form to submit information or it may be whatever form your physician provides to you, provided their form covers the same information. This form must be submitted every year, and all campers must have a physical exam within one year of the start of their camp session. All campers must have received all immunizations listed on this form that they are eligible for. The only exemptions from this policy are medical exemptions and must be accompanied by documentation from your child’s doctor, confirming the camper has a medical reason they cannot be immunized. Please contact us should you need this additional form for your child.

Food & Allergies

We are proud of the delicious, nutritious meals and snacks that we serve. Our campers participate in various aspects of meal production, including setting up and cleaning up and helping cook and prepare the meal when appropriate. We provide healthy, high-quality food and regularly accommodate a variety of dietary needs such as omnivores, vegetarians, vegans, and gluten-free diets. We are also able to provide for campers with allergies to such things as peanuts, eggs, etc. Every camper has access to healthy food choices that are safe for them to eat, though dietary restrictions may reduce the number of options available to them at each meal, or during trips, cookouts and other special events, especially in the case of multiple allergies or dietary restrictions. We do our best to accommodate a wide range of eating habits but cannot guarantee that all preferences / pickiness can be accommodated. 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.

Ticks

At BYM Camps, we take ticks very seriously. During the summer, staff are instructed to facilitate regular tick checks, and it is a point of emphasis throughout each session. We also provide families with information about ticks in advance of the summer, and provide recommendations for how to reduce their camper’s risk. You can find some of that information here:

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)

Medications

Please be aware that 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, or make arrangements to ensure that the prescription can be refilled at camp. Some medications may require approval from the prescribing doctor to ensure the camper can safely participate in camp. It is not recommended to disrupt a camper’s medication schedule during the time they are at camp.

Physical and Behavioral

Campers at BYM Camps 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. See more information in our handbooks for further information about physical and behavioral expectations for your camper.

Gender Inclusive Camps

Here at BYM Camps, we work hard to create a vibrant, diverse, and youth-centered community that welcomes everyone with open arms. We seek to create an environment where campers can both find themselves and be themselves. We believe our camps are strengthened by genuine diversity of all kinds, and we commit to creating camps where people of any race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, or economic status actively want to attend or work, where anyone and everyone feels at home.

Catoctin, Opequon, Shiloh, and Teen Adventure are gender inclusive summer camps and communities that are not divided by an individual’s sex assigned at birth. Rather, we support each community member to be in housing and social groupings that most align with their gender identity. BYM Camps includes non-binary and transgender staff and youth, and we work to model inclusivity in many ways, including by inviting all community members, as they feel comfortable, to share their gender pronouns. BYM Camps is a community where campers and staff use the full spectrum of gender pronouns and identify with the full non-binary spectrum of gender.

What does gender look like at BYM Camps?

Catoctin, Opequon, Shiloh, and Teen Adventure are all mixed gender summer camps, and at each of them, in age appropriate ways, we make space for exploring and discussing individual gender identities, while developing empathy, critical thinking, and skills to advocate for those whose gender identities may differ from their own. The result is a meaningful opportunity to challenge male and female social constructs and prejudices, such as homophobia, transphobia, and misogyny.

Gender & Housing at BYM Camps

BYM Camps are rooted in the Quaker belief that “there is that of the Light in every person,” and as such we seek to provide equitable access to all of our camps and communities. We understand that conversations about gender identity might be new for many young people and families attending BYM Camps, but also that they’re very immediate and essential to others.

For camper and staff housing options at our gender inclusive summer camps, we allow for individuals to select the social environment that is most comfortable and appropriate for them. (There are occasional exceptions to this policy, and they are vetted through camp and organizational leadership.) This policy is aimed at ensuring that everyone feels welcome, everyone feels safe, everyone feels at home at BYM Camps.

What does this mean for my child?

Our housing is very open, and counselors work with campers to ensure their sense of privacy, safety, and personal space.
We support our cabin staff who identify in various ways to be in working situations and housing that both considers the camper experience as well as the staff. We have practices and expectations in place to protect the staff as well as the campers’ safety and comfort.
Because BYM Camps policies for camps and housing rely more on gender identity than sex assigned at birth, it is possible that your child may live in a cabin with campers or counselors of a different sex assigned at birth than your child.
Your child may also live in a cabin with a camper or counselor who uses pronouns and/or identifies differently than the assigned gender of the cabin. In this case, the cabin placement decision was vetted through camp leadership and based on the shared experience of the camper or counselor.
On trips, including on Teen Adventure, campers and counselors live in mixed gendered spaces.
We invite you to share how your child identifies and the pronouns that they use, so that staff may meet them where they are, and respect who they are. We know that even within a year’s time this may change, which is why your detailed and updated registration information is important.
All staff receive comprehensive training in boundaries, so that regardless of how your child’s counselor or their cabinmates identify, staff understand and are held to high standards and will not cross physical or emotional boundaries. Conversations are also held with campers so that they are aware of boundaries related to physical and emotional safety. We educate campers and staff about whom they may go to if they are feeling unsafe, we investigate concerns where appropriate, and take remedial action if necessary.
We continue to explore the need for and benefit of non-gendered housing spaces at BYM Camps. As times and practices evolve, we welcome camper, parent, staff, and community input in order to remain responsive to shifting cultural norms and best practices.

If you have any questions about our gender inclusive summer camps, please contact Brian Massey, Program Manager: brianmassey@bym-rsf.org, 336-301-5210