We think staying in touch with your camper is important!
1. SNAIL MAIL
Campers love to get mail. We’re talking about the real thing: pen on paper, maybe some doodles or stickers, in envelopes, with stamps. Family should send campers mail 3-4 times over the session. What wonderful keepsakes! Campers are encouraged and given time to write letters daily, but as you can imagine it is nearly impossible to make this happen. Mail goes out from the camp mailbox daily.
Any letters received after the session are returned to sender. If no return address is visible, the letters are recycled.
2. EMAIL
Send an email to fun@mountainmeadow.com with your camper’s full name in the subject field. These notes are printed out daily and given to the cabin counselor to hand out. We receive a tremendous number of emails each session, to help keep this number realistic, please follow these guidelines:
- Limit your emails to one every few days.
- Emails with pictures or attachments will not be delivered.
- Only email from family will be delivered.
- Campers are not able to reply.
3. CAMP PARENT LINE
Direct phone calls with your camper are not available, so our Camp “Mom” is here to serve you. Please leave a message or text and our Camp Mom will check in with your camper, speak with their counselors, and return your call within 24 hours. You may receive a text or call. We invite you to wait 48 hours before calling to check-in. We send an email on Opening Day, confirming that all campers have arrived safely and are settling in.
See the Camp Handbook for when we will call you.
4. VIEW SUMMER PHOTOS
We are an unplugged camp, in the backcountry, with occasionally unreliable internet. We do our best to upload new photos a couple times each week. Directions for viewing summer photos will be included in the Welcome email you receive on your campers first day of camp. We aim to capture 1-2 photos of each camper over the course of the session. Please note, this is a courtesy that we offer and not a guarantee that you will see your camper every day. If you find yourself suffering from Kidsickness, please see our Camp Handbook for tips on preparing and coping. For more info on our photo policy, see HERE.
FAQ ON CONNECTING
We hear the following questions every summer, and hope that the information provided below will help any new or returning families better understand and support our “why”.
WHY CAN’T I TALK TO MY CAMPER DIRECTLY?
Direct contact home can negatively impact the camp experience in a number of ways:
- It takes your camper out of the moment.
- It inhibits the mental and emotional growth of camp.
- It can exacerbate, and even cause, homesickness.
When you send your camper to MMR, you are sending them to a safe and fun environment full of opportunities to grow. However, this mental and emotional growth can’t happen if parents and adults at home are maintaining a tight grip of concern and control. At camp, kids learn that sometimes things don’t go as expected, and other times they do. No matter what happens, they are on a learning adventure to trust themselves, find their footing, and build resilience.
WHY CAN’T I SEND CARE PACKAGES?
We have found packages to create unnecessary stress for parents and campers. Whether it be the feelings of obligation to send the “best package ever” so their camper doesn’t feel left out, or to provide something for the whole cabin, the items rarely end up being used and often end up in the trash. Camp life is busy and fun, and we provide all necessary supplies for the experience. Please plan ahead and pack any fun costumes, letter writing materials, stickers, magazines, sundry items, etc. Further, MMR is located in the beautiful Sierra Nevada wilderness. For this reason, we do not allow food, candy, or gum in our cabins or out in camp. Homemade goodies have never been allowed at MMR.
If we receive a care package:
We will return to sender and bill the postage fees to the primary credit card on your Parent Account. If there is no return address, we donate the items to our local Goodwill.