Adam Weisberg had an emergency plan.
Back in October, the executive director of Camp Tawonga near Yosemite had prepared his permanent staff for a number of scenarios should the then-looming recession slash camper registration by 5, 10 or even 20 percent.
But after filling nearly 100 percent of the camp’s slots since registration began in December, Weisberg said, he thankfully doesn’t have to put that plan into action.
He has a few theories why.
“For families with kids who’ve been to Tawonga, they know camp is worth investing in, even if they’re cutting back on personal spending,” he explained. “For families where both parents are working, programming is a must in the summer.”
This year, several local camp directors, Weisberg included, say anecdotally that their numbers are on par with the previous year, though requests for scholarships have skyrocketed.
“We’ve had more requests come up later because of emerging family situations,” said Debbie Tuttle, director of Camp Kehillah at the Osher Marin Jewish Community Center in San Rafael. “Every couple of weeks I get a family who wants to send their kid to camp, but then someone loses a job. Peoples’ situations are changing so quickly.”
The impact of the economic crisis hasn’t hit Camp Kehillah too hard, due in part to its offering of one-week “specialty” camps. These sessions have become more popular since “they give parents more flexibility in the way they plan their summer,” Tuttle said.
To that end, Tuttle has come across many who are waiting to see how their summers shape up before financially committing to the JCC. That hasn’t led to any foreseeable cutbacks, she said, though there’s always competition from parks and recreation camps.
“We can’t compete with charging $400 for the entire summer at the local pool,” Tuttle said. “JCC camps are a wonderful place for kids during the summer, and it’s a matter of the parents making the choice.”
Weisberg said Tawonga plans to hand out roughly $470,000 in scholarships, up 35 percent from last year. Of that total, about $76,000 was generated from individuals giving directly to S.F.-based Tawonga. The remaining funds are from local philanthropic organizations, including the Jim Joseph Foundation, the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund and the S.F.-based Jewish Community Endowment Fund. An additional $100,000 is available in need-blind J West grants given to first-time campers.
Camp Newman has seen a 35 percent increase in the number of families seeking financial aid, according to senior camp director Ruben Arquilevich. While he couldn’t calculate the exact amount of scholarship money needed to fulfill those requests, he said the Santa Rosa camp has raised more than $100,000 for that purpose.
In September, Arquilevich started getting calls from parents who expressed an interest in the overnight camp, but were wary of the scholarship process.
“When you’re waiting on funding from a variety of sources, it can cause anxiety for many parents,” he said. “Our philosophy is to not turn any child away because of finances.”
In response to the tough times, Camp Newman is offering interest-free payment plans, discounts for siblings and funding generated by a program for families testing out the camp for the first time.
Twenty of the 250 campers who signed up for the JCC of the East Bay’s Camp Tzofim in Oakland requested scholarships, according to Michele Levine, director of youth and family programs.
That figure is up 100 percent considering “we didn’t provide any scholarships last year to our knowledge,” she said.
But this summer’s a different story.
Camp Tzofim raised its own scholarship funds and is slated to receive approximately $7,000 from the Jewish Community Foundation, which provides financial aid to several East Bay–based Jewish summer camps.
So far, enrollment is down approximately 10-15 percent (about 20 kids) from this time last year, Levine said. But unlike years past, she expects sign-ups to continue late into the spring.
“There are a lot of last-minute people waiting,” Levine said. “The bad economy hanging over our heads is making people much more conscious of money being spent, how much and where it’s going.”