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
℅ Menlo College
1000 El Camino Real
Atherton CA 94027
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 10:00 AM will be delivered that day at lunch.
Please note that this system does not provide “real time” communication, and in fact, it sometimes takes days to receive a response from your camper. We send letters home each day, sometimes multiple times a day. However, it often takes time for the camper to write the letter and turn it into the outgoing mailbox.
Here’s an example of how the 2-way communication experience might play out:
- Day 1 – You write a note to your camper in the evening
- Day 2 – Camper receives a letter from home at lunch/rest hour
- Day 3 – Camper writes home the next day, but at night
- Day 4 – Camper turns in their letter the next morning and it’s mailed home that afternoon
In this example, it’s reasonable for it to take three days for a parent to receive their child’s response. That could seem like a long time but it is a very common experience and not an unusual time frame.
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.