Contact Your Camper
There are several ways to stay in touch with your camper during their time at Maccabi Sports Camp.
And while we encourage parents to communicate with their child, we also remind parents that one of the great benefits of camp is the opportunity for a child to be away from home and have an experience that is truly their own. Each family and child is different so do what feels right, though keep in mind that sometimes communication from home can create or exacerbate feelings of missing home and what feels like an act of support might actually become a barrier to their success.
Sending Mail and Packages
Family and friends are welcome to send letters or postcards to children at camp. In addition to letters and postcards, you may send magazines or newspaper clippings (the sports or comic pages from the newspaper are always fun to receive), stationary, Mad Libs or Sudoku books, or any other flat items. All packages must be sent in a flat envelope. Care packages or boxes are not permitted as they often contain items that are not permitted at camp such as candy, gum, snacks, and other food. The contents of all packages will be closely reviewed by camp staff and all prohibited items will be kept by camp. See our notes about food for more information supporting this policy.
Mail should be sent to:
Your Camper’s Name
Maccabi Sports Camp
℅ California State University, East Bay
25800 Carlos Bee Blvd
Hayward, CA 94542
Campers will not have access to computers but you can email them through the CampInTouch system. The CampInTouch system is powered by “CampStamps” a type of currency created by CampMinder. Maccabi Sports Camp provides a limited number of CampStamps to each family to allow you to communicate with your camper at no additional cost.
CampInTouch allows you to send a note that is printed and delivered to your camper. All notes sent by 11:00 AM will be delivered that day at lunch.
Please note that this system does not provide “real time” communication.
The CampInTouch email system will be inbound only. This is where you will be able to send emails to your child. We print the emails daily (except Saturday) at 11:00am and deliver them to the campers after lunch. In response, campers will be permitted and encouraged to send postcards and letters for outgoing communication. We ask your patience as we facilitate this communication between campers and parents.
Families are encouraged to pack pre-stamped and -addressed envelopes to streamline the process for outgoing communications.
We articulate this as a way of asking for your patience and understanding. Our priority is to enable the best camp experience possible for your camper and our entire community. We see the mail system as a lovely piece of technology that we are happy to use, but it is a bonus add-on, not our priority.
Telephone Calls
Campers are not permitted to bring phones to camp and they are likewise not given access to staff or camp phones to call home. Should there be a situation or circumstance at camp that requires a parent and child to connect via phone, camp leadership will ensure it happens.