Camp Policies

In order to pick up your child from Camp or from any of our bus stop locations, you must show your Camp Sonshine issued Dash Pass.

Please print/fill out Dash Pass with camper(s) name and program and place on car’s dashboard.

Payment Methods:

• Cash (We recommend putting the money in a ziplock with the amount written on the bag)
• Credit/Debit Cards
• Camp Sonshine Gift Cards (E-Gift Card or Physical)
  • Take note of Gift card number and pin on back in case card is lost

*We no longer use funfangle wristband payments

If you choose to cancel one (1) or more weeks (retaining others):

• $20 administrative fee per camper per week canceled until  4/24/24
• There will be no refunds for summer weeks after 4/24/24

If you choose to cancel everything (per camper):

• All fees paid are refunded except the $20 per week non-refundable deposit and $45 application fee per camper until 4/24/24
• There will be no refunds for summer weeks after April 24th, 2024

*All cancellations MUST be in writing.

** Having a sibling on the waiting list or having to attend Summer School is not cause for a refund.

We strongly encourage all teens to wear clothing that is in good taste and appropriate for Camp activities. Wearing clothing that advertises or promotes alcoholic drinks, drugs (i.e., pot smoking, marijuana, etc.), sex (nude or provocative images of men or women, etc.), cussing, and any other inappropriate language, as well as, clothes that show underwear (i.e., boxer shorts and bras) are not allowed.

We want all campers to be comfortable in their choices of swimwear! Because camp activities have campers on the move, we ask male campers to wear appropriately fitting swim shorts and female campers to wear one-pieces or tankinis that are secure and ideal for movement.

Counselors are not allowed to contact campers through phone call, text or social media.  If a parent wants an exception to this for their camper, they must fill out the communication waiver and turn it into Parent Services.

A $20 per week non-refundable deposit, as well as the $45 application fee per child is required with each week, if not yet paying in full. Your deposit only gives you freedom and flexibility to make payments at your convenience until your total balance is paid. The deposit is applied toward the full balance. (It is not a separate fee but reserves your child’s spot.) Any additions after 4/24/24, you have to pay in full.

Discounts can only be applied to camp tuition.

There is NO discount on:

• Convenience options
• Sibling savings
• $45 application fee
• Cannot be used toward your deposit amount.

Drop Offs- Medications must be submitted to Parent Services. Form must be fully completed by both the parent and the doctor. Please note: If you are planning to ride a bus, medications cannot be accepted at the bus stop. Please arrange a time to drop them off at Parent Services. Pick Ups- In order to pick up medications that were dropped off, please notify Parent Services 24 hrs ahead of time. Parents may pick up between 4:15pm-6:00pm (Extended Care Hours) in Parent Services.

If you need to pick your child up early, it is essential that you email Parent Services at info@campsonshine.org to notify us of your plans. A note sent with your child is not acceptable. We require a 24 hour notice, when possible, if your child needs to leave early.  Early pick-ups are only allowed before 2:30 PM.  Unfortunately, we are unable to arrange early pick-ups between 2:30 PM and 4:00 PM due to daily departure preparation.

CELL PHONES –  NOT ADVISED
It is our long-standing policy that campers are NOT ADVISED to have a cell phone at camp. We believe that being at camp is an opportunity for your child to experience a world beyond home. This allows children to develop autonomy, independence, and a stronger sense of self. It allows them to make new friends, take responsibility for themselves, problem solve, and mature a bit. These things are difficult to achieve when parents or other friends are only a phone call away. 

LAPTOPS, NETBOOKS, iPADS, eREADERS – NOT ADVISED

NINTENDO SWITCHes, PSPs, NINTENDO DSs – NOT ADVISED

We need your support and help so please talk to your camper(s) about our electronics policy.

To send a very clear message about how strongly we feel about leaving cell phones at home, please take the time to discuss this policy with your camper. In the past, campers have hidden their cell phones in their bags without their parent’s knowledge.

We have spoken to many campers, staff and parents about the policy and have taken your thoughts from our camp evaluations into consideration.  We recommend that your child powers down, unplugs, and takes what we’re certain is a well-needed break from the world of electronics. Please be respectful of the usage and content limitations we have in place. If you have any questions or want further clarification, please contact Parent Services.

Please ensure that you have designated someone in the immediate vicinity who will be free to pick up your child if you are not available. Campers may never be transported in staff vehicles.

For foot safety, our medical supervisors have recommended that shoes for camp provide appropriate support for hiking and strenuous activity and fully enclose the foot (toe and heel) to prevent injury from sticks, cuts, etc. For creek and pond exploration, we ask that campers bring water-shoes or an old pair of sneakers each day. Please note: If your child comes to camp in open-toe or open-heeled shoes, you will be called and asked to bring alternative shoes for your child.

If your camper has a special request to be grouped with a friend, Parent Services must be contacted. Our representatives will make every effort to acknowledge your request, given that (1) both children are in the same grade and (2) the child’s parent has not specifically requested a different grouping arrangement.

The Camp First Aid Station is primarily a short-term treatment center, not one that is equipped to handle full-day nursing care. If your child wakes up and does not feel well (e.g., fever, diarrhea, vomiting, or any other acute illness), please let he or she spend the day resting comfortably at home in bed. Please do not send your camper with a condition that could be contagious.

If your child is showing any of the following signs you will be contacted and asked to pick him/her up from the First Aid Station:

• Fever
• Nausea/Diarrhea/Vomiting
• Earache
• Suspected Chicken Pox, measles, or other contagious rashes
• Suspected Strep Throat
• Suspected Conjunctivitis (pink eye)
• Pediculosis (head lice)
• Any injury requiring a physician’s care
• Scabies
• Skin rashes
• When the Camp Nurse deems it to be in the best interest of the camper

If a camper visits the Camp Nurse for something minor, he or she will receive a sticker.

Any child having a communicable condition (e.g., pink eye, head lice, etc.) must have a release note sent to Parent Services by a physician.

Camp will credit for the days missed after, but not including, the first two days when requested in writing and accompanied by a doctor’s/school note.

If your camper(s) arrives after 9:15 AM, they must be checked into Parent Services. When running late, parents should check their campers’ schedules to see if there are any field trips or pool trips that morning. If the bus has already left for the field trip, parents can drop campers off at the trip location*, or they can elect to have their camper wait until his or her group is back on grounds!

*Please call Parent Services to confirm trip location before dropping off a camper

Bus Stop

If you are running late for pick up at the bus stop, please call Parent Services. Our Bus Counselors will have our drivers wait for 5 minutes and prior to calling Parent Services who will then make every effort to contact you if we do not hear from you. If our efforts are unsuccessful, the camper will be transported back to Camp. Upon arrival, he/she will be escorted to Extended Care to await parent pick-up. Under no circumstances—unless a Walker’s Note is on file for the current Camp year—will your camper be left unattended at the bus stop.

Regular Pick-Up (Camp)

If a child normally gets picked up by a parent/guardian, but is not picked up by 4:15, he/she will go to Extended Care. A $15 one-time use fee will be charged for using our Extended Care service.

Extended Care

If you are running late to pick up your child from Extended Care (i.e., your camper is still here after 6:35pm) there will be a late fee of $5 per 10 minutes late.

If your child decides to come to a Latestay after the camp week has started, payment must be called in or brought personally to Parent Services by the Wednesday preceding the Latestay and may not be mailed or sent with a camper.

If your child decides to come to an Overnighter after the camp week has started, payment must be called in or brought to Parent Services by Thursday preceding the Overnighter and may not be mailed or sent with a camper.

If your child will need to take medications during an Overnighter, we must have on file a Drug Authorization form signed by your child’s physician.

When any camper visits the following locations: Ocean Beaches, Cunningham Falls, Gunpowder Falls, and Greenbrier State Park, we require further swim testing and the use of personal floatation devices (also known as PFDs or life jackets). Any Camper who cannot meet the standard of this additional safety requirement will only be permitted to swim in shallow and/or enclosed wading areas. Parents can waive our recommendation for wearing life jackets only in reference to these specified trips. Parents can waive their child’s requirement to wear a life jacket by contacting Parent Services and filling out our Life Jacket Waiver form (you can download this form online from our Resource Center). Note: Campers will be required to wear a life jacket if a waiver is not on file.

We strongly encourage, especially for younger children, labeling items (e.g., hats, towels, lunch kits, etc.) that are sent with your child to Camp. All non-valuable items that are found will be stored in our Lost and Found area. All valuable items will be sent to Parent Services.

Any registrations received on or after April 24th must be accompanied by payment in full.

Checks*, cash, credit card authorization (MasterCard, Discover, AMEX or Visa), or money orders are acceptable forms of payment.

*WE ARE UNABLE TO ACCEPT CHECKS FOR ANY REASON ON OR AFTER April 24th.

There is a $35 fee charged for returned checks.

Absence of more than two consecutive days due to illness or school being extended.

Camp will credit for the days missed after, but not including, the first two days when requested in writing and accompanied by a doctor’s/school note.

We are not a special needs camp; however, depending on your child’s special need, we may be able to accommodate. In order to determine whether or not we are a good fit (i.e., if we are equipped to adequately meet you and your child(ren)’s needs) we require that parents/guardians submit necessary information pertinent to your child’s needs prior to scheduling a face-to-face meeting. This information would be best reflected as your child’s IEP, BIP or any other helpful information that would allow us to accurately determine if Camp Sonshine would be a good fit for your camper. 

Once Parent Services receives above mentioned information, a meeting will be scheduled with you and your child. This meeting will serve as an opportunity for us to see if your child is able to fully function at Camp. The meeting is also an opportunity for you to ask specific questions about our program.

Camp Sonshine has strict guidelines that it must follow concerning its ability to intervene with camper behaviors and our process is about making sure our staff and your child are both in the safest possible environment.

Please note that a camper’s application cannot be processed without prior acceptance.

Because of limited availability, fees for Spring Break Camp must be paid in full upon registration. No refunds for canceling Spring Break Camp after the week has started.

Parents/guardians are strongly encouraged to apply sunscreen to their child before bringing him or her to Camp. We also encourage parents to pack a hat and extra sunscreen in each camper’s backpack.

Campers may not move up a swim level without having parental/guardian consent on record in Parent Services. Campers may be bumped down a swim level is leadership deems it appropriate. Please remember that it takes a minimum of 24 hours to make any changes. Upon the next pool visit, the camper will be tested at the newly-requested level.

Swim Levels:

Level 1: Wading pool–no campers over 4ft tall (Red)

Level 2: Shallow end, water up to 3 1/2ft (Orange)

Level 3: Shallow end, water up to 3 1/2ft, slide (Yellow)

Level 4: All water depths, slide, low dive (Blue)

The State of Maryland requires that each adult in contact with the campers be fingerprinted and get a background check.  For this reason, visitors are not allowed to join groups. If you would like to see your child during the day, you will be asked to follow this procedure:

1. Check in at Parent Services and receive a visitor’s badge.
2. A Parent Services representative will escort you to where your child is according to the group schedule.  (Please be aware that groups do leave grounds for swimming, field trips, and sometimes on outside/in days.)
3. You may watch your child’s group from a distance, but may not join the group.
4. If you would like to say hello to your child to let him or her know that you visited, please ask in advance and a staff member will go with you to bring your child to you. The staff member will then be able to take your child back to the group.

If child is unable to enroll, or is withdrawn from the waiting list, all payments are refunded. Payment is not processed unless camper is enrolled. Please note that having a sibling on the waiting list is not cause for a refund.

If a parent or guardian would like the camper to have permission to walk home from the bus stop, a signed waiver (in the form of a letter) must be on file in Parent Services. Please see our Resource Center for a sample Walker’s Note. Otherwise, a parent, guardian, or designated adult with a blue Camp Sonshine Parking Pass must be waiting to meet the child at the stop.

As long as there is availability, families will NOT incur additional charges for:

1. Switching from week #1 to week #5.
2. Switching from Teen Adventure to Leader-In-Training.
3. Switching from Germantown to Silver Spring (within the same program)