Finding Hawai'i camps for kids

By Mary Kaye Ritz
Advertiser Staff Writer

Students from Ho'ala School cheer on classmates during games at Camp Mokule'ia. The camp draws youths from Asia as well as the Islands. Cory Lum • The Honolulu Advertiser

Sounds like a scene out of "Bug Juice," right?

Although you won't spot the 15-year-old's Camp Arrowhead adventures on that Disney Channel reality-TV show, for Ryan, it's even better than Christmas.

"Every day is filled with something to do," said the strapping Kailua High freshman.

Doesn't he miss the beach, or hanging with his friends in Hawai'i all summer long?

"Sometimes," he admitted, but adds: "At home, I get bored, like with the strike going on. There (at Camp Arrowhead), there was always something to do."

His father, Keith Belles, never considered sending his son to a Hawai'i camp, because his ties to the Tuxedo, N.C., organization go back to his college days. "I'm in love with it there," said the Waimanalo father of two. "I've got hillbilly buddies there I've seen for 20 years."

But a resident camp seems to be almost a foreign concept to people in Hawai'i, where cultural issues of 'ohana often mean everyone pitches in to care for schoolchildren in the summer, and where the beach is the traditional summer dwelling spot.

Still, organized overnight camps for kids have existed here for more than 100 years, said Ray Sanborn, president of Kama'aina Kids.

Check out the list of camps offering residential services this summer (Page D3). Some, like the YMCA's Camp Erdman in MokulÇ'ia, go back 75 years, and Boy Scout and Girl Scout camps predate even that, he said.

Sanborn, who not only runs Kama'aina Kids, a large Kailua-based childcare company, but also serves as the longtime American Camping Association manager for Hawai'i, has seen plenty of changes in his dozen years as ambassador of the summer camp concept.

Although he was unable to offer local statistics, Sanborn said "we've experienced growth in camps. Seven years ago, everybody was 'summer fun.' Now, it's day camps. ... We are seeing more kids do it. The word 'camp' is starting to make sense."

The next big thing, he predicts, will be combination residential-day programs like their so-called "trip-travel Spirit adventures," in which campers don't have a permanent campsite, setting up camps instead in different venues such as beaches and wilderness spots, then returning home on the weekends to spend time with their parents.

What he finds is that families who take part in Kama'aina Kids' Camp Timberline above Kapolei get hooked on the camping experience, then take part in further enrichment activities.

"We've done a lot to promote the attitude that camp does kids a world of good," said Sanborn. "Kids really benefit from it. They get a sense of community that can't be beat, building their own family for the time that they're there.

"Being away from home gives them a sense of self-esteem."

So why haven't they filled their spots as quickly as some Mainland camps, which he says have twice as many applicants as openings?

"When parents (here) think of camp, they think of something else," said Sanborn.

He knows of what he speaks: Sanborn married into a local family. His mother-in-law has nine siblings.

"When we go camping, all the uncles camping with their family, we go with 40 people. It's a huge thing. People who can't get off come at night, and such. Everybody is there. That's local-style camping."

Could it be that Hawai'i parents can't bear to part with their children for weeks on end because of the value placed on family cohesiveness in some local cultures? Or is it something else?

"Hawai'i has a different psyche of the parents," said Sanborn. "They didn't grow up going off to camps. People think of camping as going to the beach, hanging out with their family."

Camp MokulÇ'ia's Phil Geissal has been working in the resident camp industry for "golly, at least 45 years." His Episcopal Church-affiliated camp on O'ahu's northern shore runs a 10-week summer camp drawing youths from Taiwan, Japan and Korea as well as the Islands — all without advertising, except for a few notices in churches and their camp newsletter.

Usually there are at least a couple spots left, however.

"We've filled it up where we're comfortable," he said. "I believe (the reason) we're not filling up yet is we're not ready to."

He also sees it as "a cultural thing."

"What I've got to do with ... people out there (is) convince you that it's going to be a positive experience for your kids, A, and B, you're doing something positive for yourself. You and your husband don't have to worry about coming home, cooking dinner, and can do those things you don't normally do (with the children around). It's a win-win situation."

Yes, he said, cost plays into the decision not to participate in summer camp, but it's also "a family thing."

"When (kama'aina) go someplace, they go with their kids," he said.

Joe Harvey-Hall, director of Camp Homelani in MokulÇ'ia, agrees: "It's more 'ohana to stay with the family."

The American Camping Association, based in Martinsville, Ind., estimates that nationwide, more than 9 million youth and adults will attend some kind of camp this summer, both residential and day camps. So Camp Erdman's officials can't be far off when they say they believe the demand is there.

Asked if they get calls requesting a summer camp, Lori Abella, who has worked at the camp for seven years, responded: "All the time."

The YMCA residential camp for the public operates for just four weeks, booked in one-week increments.

"We would love to be open to a six-week-long resident summer camp for kids, but the demand for services (by other YMCAs and organizations at conflicting times) is so great, we can't accommodate that," she said. "They want a longer program. We'd really like to accommodate them, and we're working in the direction to do that. We're one resource for a lot of people who have needs."

Josh Heimowitz, who is in only his second month as executive director of Camp Erdman, once ran a YMCA summer resident camp on Maryland's Chesapeake Bay for 400 youths.

"When I came out to interview ... (summer camp was) one of the things I discussed," he said. "A lot of people use our facility to do their own. We can establish a camp here."

Despite being told "it's not part of the culture here," he intends to pursue it, aiming to attract 300 campers.

"I grew up at Camp Tockwogh," he said. "Kids can learn more in two weeks' camp than they can at a whole year of school. Family is so valued here, but I think camp can reinforce those values."

Mary Kaye Ritz can be reached at mritz@honoluluadvertiser.com

Hawai'i's residential camps for kids

These are residential camps that were found through interviews and Internet searches. American Camping Association accreditation means the camp is reviewed every three years for adherence to guidelines on safety, facilities and programs.

Aloha Adventure Camps
Makawao, Maui

• Established: 1995. Llew Lazarus, director. ACA accredited.
• Information: (877) 755-2267; fax: (310) 391-7738
• Web site: www.hawaiicamps.com
• Sessions: Two- and three-week sessions, June through August, ages 11-18. Capacity: 90. Transportation available from the airport.
• Activities: Field trips, horseback riding, photography, swimming, kayaking, hula instruction.
• Cost: $900 per week for Hawai‘i residents; $2,249-$2,999 for non-residents for the entire session.

Camp Mokule‘ia
Mokule‘ia, O‘ahu

• Established: 1947. Philip Geissal, executive director. Affiliated with the Episcopal Church in Hawai‘i. ACA accredited.
• Information: 637-6241; fax: 637-5505
• Web site: www.campmokuleia.com
• Sessions: One week, two weeks, ages 7-17. Capacity: 100. Transportation, financial aid available.
• Activities: Aquatics, archery, arts and crafts, challenge/rope courses, horseback riding.
• Cost: $300 per week.

Camp Timberline
Kapolei, O‘ahu

• Established: 1940, Aaron Haneline, director. Operated since 1995 by Kama‘aina Kids. ACA accredited.
• Information: 262-4538; fax: 261-2051
• Web site: www.camp-timberline.com
• Sessions: Three one-week sessions, one two-week session, ages 10-17. Capacity: 60.
• Activities: Challenge/rope courses, scuba, swimming, tours, wilderness trips.
• Cost: $225-$795 per week.

Camp Homelani
Mokule‘ia, O‘ahu

• Established: 1942. Joe Harvey-Hall, director. Operated by the Salvation Army. ACA accredited.
• Information: 637-4131; fax: 637-7170
• E-mail: homelani@aol.com
• Web site: www.camphomelani.org
• Sessions: Four one-week sessions, for ages 7-12, June through August; capacity: 108. Financial aid available.
• Activities: Arts and crafts, sports, drama, music, swimming, religious study.
• Cost: $90 per week.

Camp Erdman
Mokule‘ia, O‘ahu

• Established: 1926. Josh Heimowitz, director. Operated by the YMCA of Honolulu. ACA accredited.
• 637-4615; fax: 637-8874
• Web site: www.camperdman.net
• Sessions: One-week and two-week sessions June through August, ages 8-16; adventure camps for ages 11-17. Capacity: 75. Transportation available.
• Activities: Archery, arts/crafts, challenge/rope courses, field trips, kayaking.
• Cost: $200-$450 per week.

Maui Surfer Girls
Olowalu, Maui

• Established: This year. A small surf camp for girls on Maui’s west shore. Dustin Tester, director. Not yet accredited by ACA.
• Information: (808) 250-2019; fax (808) 986-8634
• Web site: www.mauisurfergirls.com
• Session: Two-week overnight camp June 17-July 1. Capacity: 30.
• Activities: Daily surf instruction; snorkeling, hiking, mountain biking; crafts and beach art.
• Cost: $2,000 (excluding airfare) for two-week session, kama‘aina.; $2,200 for non-residents