General Information For Camp DeSoto's 2008 Season
First Term: June 14 - July 9
Second Term: July 12 - August 6
Download 2008 Application
Rates
The fee is $3,400.00 per term. A registration fee of $500.00 must accompany this application. A $600.00 payment is due January 1, 2008 and the balance of the fee ($2,300.00) must be paid before May 1st for either term. No reduction will be made for campers entering late or leaving early. Siblings will receive a 10% discount.
Cancellation Policy
| Cancellation Date | Cancellation Fee |
| January 1st | $50.00 |
| Between January 1st and March 31st | $400.00 |
| Between April 1st and April 30th | $800.00 |
| After May 1st | $1,700.00 |
Additional Fees
The Camp fee includes your daughter's trip fee, cabin photo, daily snacks at store, crafts, laundry, horseback riding, and $50.00 spending money to be used for store items and church offering. Additional charges will apply for Camp t-shirts and shorts, Camp Meds if your daughter needs prescription medication daily, transportation to/from Camp, and UPS charges for shipping trunks and duffel bags. Campers are required to have two tribe shirts that cost approximately $12.00 each. Other purchases are optional. You will receive an order form in the spring and will be asked to order and pay for Camp knitwear then.
Admission
Camp DeSoto accepts girls between the ages of 8 and 16. A girl must have completed the second grade, or turn 8 during the summer, to be eligible to camp that year. Campers who are new to DeSoto are asked to submit two references. No camper will be admitted who has to be absent from camp for more than 3 days. We feel that an absence beyond that length is detrimental to the camp experience for her and her cabin mates. Girls who seek admission to DeSoto must understand and willingly agree to abide by the camp regulations and policies as stated in the General Information 2008. Should the directors determine that a girl's influence is undesirable, they will dismiss her without refund. The use of alcohol, illegal drugs, or tobacco in any form is not permitted by DeSoto. As well, Desoto has a no-cell-phone policy. These are inflexible rules, and campers who break them will be sent home.
Cabin Assignments
Campers may request cabin mates in their same grade. We seek to honor non-conflicting camper requests, but the final decision rests with the directors. To the degree it is possible, we allow only two campers from the same hometown to be in a cabin together so that no group of girls overwhelms a cabin. We want to encourage new camp friendships. All cabin requests must be made in writing by May 1st. No cabin changes will be made on Opening Day.
Opening and Closing Day
Camp's gates will open at 8:30 a.m. (CDT) the mornings of June 14 and July 12. Cabin assignments will not be given before then. On Closing Day, we ask that you pick up your camper between 8:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. If someone other than a parent is picking up or dropping off your camper, the camp directors must have this information in writing prior to the beginning of the term. In addition, we need in writing any late arrivals, early departures, or mid-term leaves for your camper.
Visitation Policy
One of the great benefits that a girl receives from a residential camping experience is the natural growth in self-confidence and independence that camp fosters. We ask that you be careful in promising your daughter a visit. Many times these visits are unsettling and can work against what you, and we, are hoping your daughter will receive from her camping experience. We encourage you to see Camp and become familiar with its setting and your child's counselor on Opening and Closing Days.
We do provide a one-time visit after two weeks of the term have passed. During rest hour a camper may visit with immediate family or grandparents on the Gym lawn. This will not be a time to see her cabin or take a tour of Camp. You can understand our desire to keep the traffic in Camp to a minimum for the protection of campers and their pleasure in Camp. Thus, we allow only one visit by immediate family or grandparents. We are not set up to accommodate visits by other family friends (including school friends or boyfriends). Please call prior to your visit to make sure your daughter will be in Camp the day you plan to visit. First term visitation opens Saturday, June 28th, continuing through Saturday, July 5th. Second term visitation begins Saturday, July 26th, continuing through Saturday, August 2nd.
Health and Medical
Camp has its own infirmary where a camp doctor and nurses are available to take care of your daughter's minor aches, pains, and accidents. If a camper's medical needs are beyond what our infirmary can accommodate, we take girls to medical centers in Fort Payne, AL, and Chattanooga, TN. We do not notify parents when a camper is in our infirmary for some minor ailment. If, however, your daughter has an accident or stays overnight in the infirmary, we will contact you.
In mid-April you will receive a green camp health form which must be filled out and signed by physician, parent, and camper. This form provides ample space for you to inform us about your daughter's health condition and medical needs. Campers will not be admitted into Camp without a completed health form. Camp DeSoto requires a new health form for each camping season, including immunization records.
Travel Information
Campers may travel to Camp by plane or automobile. Campers arriving by plane will be met on Opening Day at the Birmingham airport by our staff and brought to Camp. They will return on Closing Day the same way. Parents will need to make airline reservations for their campers. Arrivals should be scheduled between 9:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. Departures should be scheduled as close to 12:00 (noon) as possible. Transportation reservations will be made in the spring. A reservation form will be sent to you detailing the exact cost.
Baggage
Campers will need a footlocker and a duffel bag. Space is limited in cabins, so girls should not bring large trunks to Camp. The best size is 32"L x 28"W. Campers will not be allowed to have extra shelving or stacking crates for their belongings. Any extra storage container should fit easily and neatly under a camp cot (no more than 10 inches high). Trunks may be shipped via UPS to our shipping address - 264 Highway Above the Clouds, Mentone, AL 35984.
Camp Life In General
Camp is 300 people trying to live together peaceably and enjoyably; therefore, some restrictions are necessary. Our restrictions are made in light of what is good for individual campers, and the community as a whole. We limit a girl's music and reading choices, as well as her personal belongings (particularly cell phones and iPods), in order to enhance her camp experience and the experiences of her cabin mates. Camp is a wonderful time of removal for campers. We are simply asking girls to take a break from many of the things normally enjoyed, in order to fully enjoy the Camp setting and all it offers. What may sound like a restriction is ultimately a gift.
Telephones
Campers are not allowed to make or receive telephone calls. Experience has taught us that this can be very disruptive to a camper's settling into Camp. If you are concerned about your child, or simply need reassurance, please feel free to contact Phil or Marsha. We are happy to talk with you. Cellular phones are not allowed at DeSoto. Campers using cellular phones will be sent home.
Food
We serve three full meals a day. There is enough variety to satisfy almost any taste. Mid-morning we serve fruit to the entire Camp, and at 3:00 each afternoon our store is open for drinks or a snack.
Radios, iPods, Music
We ask that girls not bring radios, iPods, CDs, or CD players to Camp. Camp will provide plenty of music for campers.
Reading Material
Because our age span is wide and we are an open community, we ask you to be very careful about the reading material that comes into Camp. Please do not allow your daughter to bring anything that would be questionable in any way. (In our setting, we think horror comics or very scary books are inappropriate.) Any reading material taken up will be returned at the end of the term.
Mail is a wonderful thing during Camp, and your daughter will need to receive a letter soon after she arrives. Each week her ticket to Sunday lunch will be a letter home to you. Camp DeSoto has a no package policy. Letter-size or 9½ x 4¼ business envelopes containing letters only will be delivered Monday-Saturday through our Camp Post Office. Care packages - and this includes oversized envelopes and padded envelopes, as well as boxes - will not be delivered. Please notify family and friends of this. The obvious exceptions to this policy are birthdays and necessary items. For birthdays and necessary items be sure and send these addressed to Phil Hurt at P.O. Box 432, Mentone, AL 35984, or Camp's regular shipping address, 264 Highway Above the Clouds, Mentone, AL 35984. This same policy applies to dropped-off packages.
Faxes and Emails
In general, we do not deliver faxes to campers. However, international campers may send and receive faxes three times a week. The three-fax-per-week rule also applies to campers whose parents are traveling outside the U.S. Campers may receive email through Bunk1, which you may register for on our website at www.campdesoto.com. There is a fee for this service. Our email address is available for parents to correspond with the directors. Because of the pace of Camp, email is checked once daily and not on weekends. Knowing this, if it suits, you may communicate with us at campdesoto@gmail.com.
Birthdays
We recognize each girl's birthday that occurs while she is at Camp. She will be given her own birthday cake, as well as presents you have left with us, or sent c/o Phil Hurt. Even on birthdays, we ask that you abide by our no food, and no phone call policies.
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