Teen Adventure Quaker Camp
The
Teen Adventure Programs are outdoor adventure programs for
youth ages fifteen to eighteen. Originating from a base camp
in Lexington, VA, trips are three weeks long and are comprised
of twelve campers and two trip leaders.
Campers have considerable responsibility for the day-to-day planning and management of trips, which consist of backpacking, white-water canoeing, rock climbing, and service projects.
Campers
are encouraged in their emotional and spiritual development
as they grow through these wilderness challenges
in collaboration
with their peers. These trips are rigorous and require
campers to be in good shape and up to significant physical
and mental
challenges. TA Leadership Training is offered to the
more experienced outdoor camper in the second year,
emphasizing outdoor leadership skills and training.
Approved at the Camping Program Committee meeting of 29 October 2006.
We believe that our programs work best and change lives most profoundly when campers are able to return each year. We are also committed to serving children within the Baltimore Yearly Meeting. Virtually all campers who get in to TA are returning campers from Catoctin, Shiloh, and Opequon.
The directors try to achieve gender balance as well as balance of representation from Catoctin, Shiloh, and Opequon. We will not consider applications from families with outstanding debt to the camping program. Applicants who miss the February 1st application deadline will automatically go to the end of the waitlist.
All applications received up until the deadline are given the same amount of weight; i.e., applying early does not get you a spot in TA, but getting the application in late does move you to the end of the waitlist.
We rarely accept new applicants to the program who have never attended a BYM camp before. If we accept a camper of this type, they will be placed at the end of the waitlist.
The Camp Directors and Camping Program Secretary reserve the right to deny acceptance to any applicant. Specifically, these staff are trusted to discern when a camper is not ready for camp or when the camping program is not capable of serving the needs of the camper.
Conversely, these staff are also trusted to discern when the outreach and ministry of the Camping Program requires the admission of a camper. These cases have been called pastoral admissions. Additionally, in an effort to maintain diversity, applicants of color may be considered for priority.
The Quaker testimony of integrity requires a full and complete disclosure of the process that is used for admission to the TA programs. The process is as follows:
1. Only returning campers (BYM camping program), with on-time applications and no outstanding debt, are considered.
2. The Directors and Secretary have discretion to deny acceptance to an applicant, to give priority to an applicant for pastoral reasons, and/or to give priority to an applicant of color.
3. All of the applicants left are divided by the camp they came from (Catoctin, Opequon, Shiloh) and then by gender. TAP applicants are also considered separately from TALT applicants.
4. Campers are selected randomly (with names on slips of paper in a bag) from each camp, by gender, to fill the available spots in TAP and TALT. A camper who applied in a previous year but who was not accepted because of insufficient space will have their name on two slips of paper. This random draw will also determine the ordering of the waitlist for the two programs.
5. Applicants who apply late are put at the end of the waitlist
in the order their applications are received. New applicants
to the program are considered only if extra spots are available
after serving all returning campers.
Teen Adventure Session Dates 2008
For campers ages 15 - 18 or 14 entering 10th grade.
| Teen Adventure Program: |
| Saturday, June 28 - Sunday, July 20 |
Camp address (driving & mailing):
Teen Adventure
495 Snakefoot Lane
Lexington, VA 24450
540-463-7234
Campers may either arrive at Common Ground (TA launch site) near Lexington, VA, or they may ride the shuttle we provide which leaves from Sandy Spring Friends School. The shuttle leaves SSFS promptly at 10am. Registration for shuttle riders starts at 9am. Drop-off at the Common Ground starts at 2pm. Pick-up at SSFS for the shuttle is at 5pm. At, Common Ground, pick-up starts at 11am.
Teen Adventure Equipment Lists - Printable List (PDF)
This list is extremely important; please follow it closely. Proper equipment is essential. Our goal is to provide exciting, challenging and positive outdoor adventures. However, the quality of your camper’s experience can be affected by the appropriateness of the equipment you provide. The misery caused by an ill-fitting backpack or inadequate shoes can color a camper’s attitude toward backpacking, hiking and camping, in general. Please help your teenager enjoy Teen Adventure! All items not listed in the Optional, or Do Not Bring categories are required. If a camper does not bring a required item, TA staff or parents have to drive to town to buy them—and they are often difficult and/or expensive to find at the last minute. For safety reasons, campers are not permitted on the trail without them. Parents—please check that your TA camper has packed all items on the list before departing for TA.
WORDS FROM CAMPERS/PARENTS:
"She came back singing the songs from camp very enthusiastically. She was affirmed in her ability to make friends and cope with difficult physical inconvenience. The camping program
has been a wonderful influence for both my girls. It gave them the
opportunity to experience directly “living in the light”. It strengthened their
attachment to Quakerism. The friends
they met fulfilled a need to know folks outside our narrow rural community."
"... my summer would be incomplete without returning to the camp community. I have made friends under the most trying conditions and those are the type that you remember throughout the school year."
