Summer Day Camp FAQs

Summer day camp costs vary depending on the camp. Each rate is per child per week. A one-time registration fee per camper will be applied, and some camps may require a weekly deposit. YMCA facility members receive reduced day camp rates.

There is a $45 Registration Fee per camper. These registration fees are non-refundable and non-transferable.  

Need-based scholarships are available to help cover the cost of summer camps. Ask your camp director for more information.

All fees must be paid by automatic draft. The remaining balance each week of summer camp is due on Friday, 17 days prior to the camp's start. Weekly camp fees will not be refundable or transferable once the balance has been drafted or paid. For the security of your payment and the safety of our staff, cash or check payments are not accepted at any camp locations.

The Y will mail out tax statements each January for the previous year. Please keep copies of cancelled checks and receipts for IRS reporting requirements. The YMCA’s tax ID number is 61-0444843.

Payments are due the Friday, three weeks prior to the week of camp starting (money orders are not accepted). The child will not be allowed to attend until paid in full.

Should you have a financial problem, contact your local branch.

Summer camp registrations may be cancelled up to 17 days prior to the Monday of camp starting, with a full refund or credit. Failure to provide notice within this 17-day window will result in the full weekly fee or remaining balance being charged, and neither will be refundable.

The YMCA will continue to offer refunds and credits for any camps that may be cancelled by the YMCA.

At the time of enrollment, parents are to provide all court-ordered paperwork if any parties are not to have contact with a child enrolled in the YMCA Summer Camps program. Paperwork must be court-ordered and indicate who is the primary residential parent or if both parents have shared parental custody. Please notify the Camp Director of any unusual circumstances.

In order to provide the safest care for your child, the above must be followed. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

In order to best serve our campers, we have a set number of spaces available for summer camps. If the program is full and you are placed on a waiting list, the YMCA will contact you if a space becomes available. After the YMCA receives your consent, we will formally add you to our camps and process the payments. We ask that parents update us if they register for another camp program or their plans change.

All of our locations will offer a parent orientation and camp kickoff session in May. Dates and times vary by location. We will be there to answer questions you might have, hand out camp bags, t-shirts, car-rider tags, and overview map of pick-up and drop-off. You’ll also meet your counselors and have a chance to win a free week of camp!

Clothing: All campers should come in comfortable clothes that can get dirty and tennis/gym shoes. On swim days, campers will need bathing suit and towel (swim shoes/flip flops optional).

Food: All campers need to come to camp with a balanced, non-refrigerated lunch and water bottle. We provide a healthy afternoon snack for all camps. On field trip days, please send lunches in a 100% disposable bag, instead of a lunch box or cooler.

Other: All campers need to come to camp with spray-on sunscreen already applied and more sunscreen in their bags. We will take breaks during the day to re-apply sunscreen at camp. It is best if you send your camper with “spray-on” sunblock of at least SPF 30. Hats/sunglasses, etc. are optional.

Please label all belongings with first and last name.

We strongly encourage all campers to make new friends; however, we understand many kids simply are not comfortable in a new setting and would prefer to be with a friend. Usually, we can accommodate as long as you tell your camp director by Tuesday of the week before they attend camp.

You will receive a car rider tag that needs to be shown to a Y staff member during drop off and pick up. Please do not exit the vehicle as your child will be brought to your car.

Your child will only be released to the person with the appropriate car rider tag as we want to ensure that every precaution is taken when releasing your child to an adult. You may give your car rider tag to another parent or guardian that is at least 18 years of age.

For your child’s safety, should any person who appears to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol arrive to pick up your child, our staff will be required to contact another person on your child’s registration form. If no one is available, we are required to call law enforcement. This policy is in place for the safety of your child; the YMCA will not make exceptions. YOU WILL BE CALLED IF YOUR CHILD DOES NOT HAVE AN APPROPRIATE ADULT WITH A CAR RIDER TAG DURING PICK UP.

Reminder: children cannot be picked up from off-site locations such as field trips.

The YMCA Day Camp programs close at 6 pm. To avoid having to pay a late charge, we strongly urge you to have additional emergency numbers and people available to pick up your child. These people and their numbers must be written on our list of who can pick up your child.

Late charges are $1 per child per minute late. These fees are due at the time of pick-up. Every attempt will be made to call the parent(s) and all emergency numbers listed on the child’s registration form.

The Friday before each new week begins, an E-NEWSLETTER will be sent with that week’s activities and theme! Be sure to check your email every Friday for that information. Activities are subject to change based upon weather.

If your child's camp is able to provide field trips, the Y will provide transportation. The cost for all field trips is included in our weekly fee. Transportation to and from the camp location is the responsibility of the parent or guardian. It is also your responsibility to arrive promptly at the camp site on field trip days in order for field trips to remain on schedule.

Please note that for safety reasons campers cannot be dropped off or picked up from field trip locations. If you are not able to drop your child off prior to the field trip departure you will need to wait until we return to the camp location. If you need to pick your child up early on a field trip day you will need to pick them up at the camp location before we depart on the field trip or wait until the field trip returns.

We believe that there are many other enriching activities in which your child can participate at our summer program other than watching a movie or playing a video game. We will only show a movie or offer video games if it enhances our weekly theme and allows our staff and children to interact and engage in a meaningful experience.

Please refrain from bringing any cell phones into any Y programs. Children carrying cell phones will be asked to turn them off during program hours. The Y cannot be responsible for lost or stolen phones brought to camp.

In order for the Y to dispense medication for your child the following is required:

1. A medication form must be filled out daily in order to dispense (your Camp Director has this form).
2. Medication must be in the original bottle for the person it was prescribed, with the dosage for the day only.
3. The parent or guardian must bring in the medication and give it to the Camp Director.

Over the counter medication will only be dispensed with a note from a physician on letterhead. Please give this note to the Camp Director along with your daily permission to administer.

To ensure the health and well being of all children in our program, if a child has a contagious illness, infection or fever of 100.3 degrees, parents must make arrangements for their child to be picked up from the program immediately.

This includes head lice. If your child has a confirmed case of lice we will require a doctor's statement that your child is nit-free before they can return.

If your child is injured, the Camp Director or acting Camp Director will take whatever steps necessary to obtain emergency medical care. These steps may include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. Attempts to contact a parent or guardian.
2. Attempts to contact persons listed on the emergency information if parent or guardian cannot be reached.
3. If we cannot contact you, we will call an ambulance or paramedic.
4. Have the child taken to an emergency hospital in the company of a staff member.

Sickness and accident insurance is the responsibility of the parent or guardian.

Our staff wishes to work with you and your child to have the best experience possible. Occasionally, there will be behavior problems. In most instances, we will try to redirect behavior or remove the child from the conflict.

In some cases, if the problem persists or is severe, our staff will speak to you explaining the incident. If the problem has not been resolved, you will be asked to meet with the Camp Director, staff and your child to come up with a way to resolve the conflict.

In extreme cases, your child may be suspended or dismissed from the program (i.e. repeated bullying, physical threatening, a violent act against another child or staff member.) These two alternatives are a last resort, knowing this would be an inconvenience to you.

Please help us to resolve any behavior problems so that we may offer a safe and happy environment for all children.

An integral component of the YMCA’s quality camp program is staffing. Our staff consists of mature and enthusiastic individuals who help us provide a quality, safe, and FUN program. We feel confident that we have the best staff around!

They are carefully selected and well-trained groups of young men and women. Reference checks are conducted, documented and filed on all employees working with children. A criminal history background check is also required.

Professional Y Camp Directors and Y Program Directors provide the primary leadership for our camps. They are available to answer parent questions and to assist with any personal needs that you or your child may have.

Most importantly, our staff members are people who love children. They want to spend their summer playing, teaching and working with children. They are good people with good hearts who are silly enough to sing camp songs at the top of their lungs!

All staff members receive 40 hours of intense YMCA in-house training that covers a great deal. The staff members learn about the policies and procedures of Summer Camp. They learn how important it is to apply sunscreen throughout the day. They learn how to do face counts and how to check in and out children. They learn the proper procedures for the daily drop off and
pick up of campers.

All of our staff our trained in the warning signs of sexual abuse and learn to:

• KNOW – The warning signs of child sexual abuse
• SEE – The warning signs based on the actions of others
• RESPOND – To warning signs of child sexual abuse accordingly

In addition to learning all the policies and procedures of the YMCA Summer Day Camps program, they learn techniques of how to better interact with children. They learn how to use positive discipline as well as how to detect and report child abuse. They learn songs, games, and arts & crafts projects. Staff members are also certified in CPR and First Aid.

Staff members are not allowed to be alone with children they meet in Y programs, outside the Y program setting. This includes babysitting, sleepovers, and inviting staff members to children's homes.

We have a number of positions available at our Summer Day Camps and Camp Piomingo Overnight Camp, ranging from group leaders to camp directors.

Apply to work at a YMCA camp today!

The minimum age is 17 years for day camp group leaders, and the preferred age is 21 years or older for day camp directors and assistant directors.

The minimum age to work at YMCA Camp Piomingo overnight camp is 18 years.

Get paid to have fun! Do you have what it takes to help create the best summer ever for a group of awesome kids? Here are just a few reasons to become a summer day camp counselor:

• Experience the excitement of camp while you’re leading fun activities, supervising field trips, and serving as a role model of the Y values.
• It’s close to home with many locations to choose from throughout Kentuckiana!
• Enjoy a flexible schedule up to 40 hours per weeks with no late nights or weekends. Plus paid training!
• You will develop resume-worthy skills like, leadership, problem solving and creative thinking.
• And, of course, you’ll make memories to last a lifetime.
• No nights or weekend shifts and flexible scheduling available.