WORRY FREE CAMPING.
Camp Ithiel is committed to the safety of all campers. Our safety plan covers many areas such as weather safety, staff screening, abuse prevention, bullying prevention, activity safety and medical care. As we train our year-round and seasonal staff on safety, you also can help make camp a safe environment simply by carefully reviewing these policies with your child before they arrive at camp. We have adopted a saying when it comes to safety: Our job is to keep campers safe. Their job is to help us keep it that way.
Medical Care: We care about the health of every camper. Our camp property is located one mile from Health Central Hospital and two miles from the walk-in clinic. Our Camp Director, Program Director or nurse administer all medication to campers. We do not allow medication in the cabins. At check in, all campers must turn in medications and inform staff of their medication routine/schedule. Hand-washing is an important part of our illness prevention efforts. During summer camp we require campers to wash their hands before meals.
For each camper:
Accident and sickness insurance is provided as a supplement to the camper’s personal coverage.
All medication will be kept and distributed by the Camp Director, Program Director and/or Nurse.
All campers will be screened at check in for medication and lice.
In the event of an emergency, a reasonable effort will be made to contact parents/guardians.
Ill or injured campers will be taken to one of several nearby medical facilities.
Bullying Prevention: Camp Ithiel is committed to creating a safe, bullying-free environment for campers while they are under our care. We believe bullying prevention begins with proper monitoring. All activities are monitored by counselors and support staff. On the first day, counselors talk directly with their cabins about inappropriate behavior, camp’s zero tolerance policy on bullying, and encourage campers to report any violations throughout their time at camp. During the all-camp discussion of rules and expectations, the Dean and Program Director will reiterate this information. Each camper and staff member signs a covenant at the beginning of the week agreeing to camp rules and expectations. No refunds are given to campers who are dismissed because of behavior.
Activity Safety: Our desire is that activities are fun and exciting for campers! While we have a blast doing fun camp activities, every camper’s safety is our number one priority.
Pool: There is always a lifeguard (sometimes two depending on the size of the group) on duty whenever campers are swimming in the pool. Every lifeguard is Lifeguard and CPR certified. In addition, all lifeguards are trained on how to use an Automated External Defibrillator (AED). Campers are assessed to determine their strength as a swimmer. Non-swimmers must remain in the shallow end of the pool at all times. The pool is tested routinely to ensure the water is in safe swimming condition. Swimming only happens at the pool.
Canoeing & Kayaking: During scheduled canoeing and kayaking times, a lifeguard is always on duty. All Campers including staff are required to wear appropriately sized life jackets when on the lake.
Climbing Wall: Camp Ithiel does not own a climbing wall. We have an insured vendor bring their own wall equipped with trained staff and safety equipment.
Archery: We have trained and certified staff who instruct archery. They teach campers good safety practices of the sport.
Weather Safety: Camp Ithiel trains staff to recognize weather situations to protect campers and staff. We monitor the weather, and we have the ability to notify staff members to take shelter. In the event of bad weather, we move everyone indoors while monitoring the weather until all storms have passed. The fun does not stop just because everyone is indoors. We have rainy-day activities to keep campers occupied and happy.
Staff Screening: The selection and screening of staff is an important part of our safety plan. We take strongly the call to find the best staff. Applicants must fill out an extensive essay style application. All applications are thoroughly reviewed by our Program Director and/or Camp Director before interviews are scheduled. Every applicant must have a minimum of three references, one of which is their pastor. All applicants are interviewed and asked to sign a Staff Covenant. We run background checks on every summer staff counselor.
Abuse Prevention: Abuse prevention is more than just performing background checks. Camp Ithiel’s summer staff go through training which reviews abuse prevention policies, information on how to watch and monitor everyone around us, and what to do in if situations arise. We discuss specific rules and procedures we have in place. Some key concepts and procedures we teach our staff are:
The Rule of Three: Staff should never be alone with a camper in a private place. While one-on-one conversations are important to our ministry, they should always be in view of and with other people nearby.
Appropriate and inappropriate touch.
Appropriate and inappropriate camper contact outside of camp.
What to do if you encounter abuse of any kind:
Reporting: It is important to set in place multiple ways for individuals to report abuse, both anonymous and not anonymous. If a camper or staff member is in a situation where they feel unsafe, they should talk to a leader. This could be their counselor, Dean, Chaplain, Program Director, Camp Director, or you their parent. Florida law requires staff report abuse information.
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