ALBANY, N.Y. — Even a happy camper can be brought down by the economy.
Many summer camps, which are typically in their busy registration season this time of year, are experiencing a downturn in enrollment as parents appear to be postponing the decision to send kids to camp, or at least putting off paying for it.
Nationally, camp enrollment is down about 15 percent from this time last year, says George Painter, executive director of Camp Chingachgook, the local YMCA’s overnight camp on nearby Lake George.
So far, enrollment at Chingachgook, which usually hosts 2,000 campers, has dipped 15 percent, too, Painter says.
“Families are being hesitant with their dollars to make the deposit and the registration,” he says, adding that he’s still hopeful that will change because scholarship contributions increased this year, making more financial aid available to campers. Tuition at Chingachgook is $905 a week or $1,545 for two weeks.
“We are very optimistic that (we) will fill by summer.” Camp Nassau, a Guilderland (N.Y.) YMCA day camp, also has fewer enrollees than it did this time last year, says Brian Robinson, the camp’s director.
But many parents rely on day camp as a form of child care for school-age children, so he’s still hopeful that they’ll find room in their budgets for camp tuition, about $225 a week for most Camp Nassau programs.
The YMCA, he says, also is willing to work with families to come up with a payment plan that allows them to still afford camp.
Families who give up on pricey summer vacations also may see camp as an inexpensive summer alternative, he says.
“I wouldn’t sit here and totally put up a white flag at the moment. The phone calls are still coming in. It’s not like the interest in camp has dried up,” Robinson says. “I think people are going to be cautious with their money, and it will be late money (and late camp registration).” Yet not all camps are suffering declines. Day-camp programs at the Sidney Albert Albany Jewish Community Center are seeing enrollment on pace with last year, partly because the center deliberately reduced prices for its members by 30 percent in an effort to encourage parents not to cut camp out of the family budget, says Andrew Katz, director of youth services for the center.
The center charges members who register early from $175 to $275 weekly for most day camps.
At Camp Scully, an overnight camp in Wynantskill, N.Y., organizers expect to have a full roster of campers this summer.
That’s mostly because 80 percent of the campers there receive full scholarships covering the $275-a-week fee.
A downturn in donations has affected the camp, but it won’t mean a decrease in campers or services, says camp director Colin Stewart.
They’ll just have to live with little sacrifices, like bouncing well-worn basketballs rather than new ones.
