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- A CAMP FOR EVERY CHILD AND EVERY BUDGET
Finding out how to afford
camp is easy—and there's plenty of help. The bottom line
about camp costs is that there's a camp for just about every
budget. Fees range from $75 to more than $650 per week for ACA-accredited
resident and day camps. For example, did you know:
- Camps
offer special discounts—for everything from early registration,
full-season, or multiple enrollments from one family.
- Many
camps offer "camperships"—partial or total scholarships
and financial assistance. Parents shouldn't assume their income
doesn't qualify.
- Parents should inquire into whether
the camp participates in income-eligible subsidy programs, for instance
through Title XX.
- A Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account
allows parents to be reimbursed on a pre-tax basis for child care
or adult dependent care expenses for qualified dependents that are necessary
to allow parents to work, look for work, or to attend school full
time.
- In
certain circumstances, day care expenses, including transportation
by a care provider, may be considered dependent care services and
paid with pre-tax dollars.
- Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit:
The IRS allows an income tax credit of up to $6,000 of dependent
care expenses if you have two or more dependents (up to $3,000 for one
dependent). The amount of the credit is based on your adjusted gross
income and applies only to your federal taxes. This applies to qualifying
day camp expenses as well.
For a complete list of ACA's list of Parents'
"Must Ask" questions—including refund policies, amenities, transportation,
extra costs, and payment plans—check out www.CampParents.org,
or contact Public Relations at pr@ACAcamps.org.
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- NO CHILD LEFT
INSIDE
With children's increasing disconnect with the environment,
camps, schools, and experts react:
- Camps share the value of
outdoor educational experiences, from farming and gardening camps
to wilderness and experiential nature camps. Camp is a true experiential
"laboratory" for outdoor education. There are many camps that feature
nature programs, for instance:
- Green River Preserve, an ACA-accredited camp
in Cedar Mountain, North Carolina, is designed for bright, young
naturalists, but in the off-season the camp welcomes school groups
to visit the grounds and learn about nature. The educational
field trip that is part of the students' curriculum is based on
the book,
The Education of Little Tree, and allows campers to both
learn about and experience nature.
- At Gwynn Valley, an ACA-accredited camp nestled in
the hills of North Carolina, campers play an active role on the farm
by caring for baby animals, milking cows, tending to fields, and more.
In fact, Gwynn Valley produces 70 percent of its own food without the
influence of modern farming technology.
- A 2005 study conducted
by California's Department of Education found that outdoor education
can improve academic performance. Sixth-grade children who participated
in such programs had a 27 percent rise in math and science scores.
- Richard
Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods: Saving
Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder, said: "Young people — the ones
lucky enough to have attended a school, church, or other organized camp,
or to have camped with their family or friends — can offer
moving testimony to the power of experience in the natural world."
Read Louv's article Camp
Revival on the camp experience.
For more information about nature-oriented
camp programs, contact Public Relations at pr@ACAcamps.org.
To learn more about Richard Louv and what he says about camp
and Nature Deficit Disorder or to reprint Louv's article Camp
Revival, contact
Public Relations at pr@ACAcamps.org.
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MEDIA CONTACT:
Public Relations, American Camp Association
765-349-3317; 765-342-8456, ext. 317
pr@ACAcamps.org
About ACA
The American Camp Association® (ACA) works to preserve, promote, and enhance
the camp experience for children and adults. ACA-Accredited® camp programs
ensure that children are provided with a diversity of educational and developmentally
challenging learning opportunities. There are over 2,400 ACA-accredited camps
that meet up to 300 health and safety standards. For more information, visit www.ACAcamps.org.
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