Because we’ll be traveling on buses, please limit your student to one bag or piece of luggage, one pillow, one blanket, and one carry-on per student. Label all of your stuff!

Dress for Success

• Casual clothes for sessions and activities. We’ll be outside most of the day and temps will range from 40-80 degrees. Layers are recommended.
• Tennis shoes and sandals/flip flops.
• Swimsuits: There is an indoor pool on the property.
• Ladies: Please wear a one-piece modest bathing suit or tankini-style suit that is still on the side of modesty.
• Guys: No speedos. Shorts need to be longer than fingertip length.
• Clothing for outdoor team recreation
• Your student will be assigned a team and will be notified before camp of their team and team colors! We encourage students to dress in their team colors for recreation each day!

For Sessions and Freetime

• Bible, pen, and journal

Spending money for:

• Travel Meals (four total)
• Merchandise (shirts, hoodies, stickers, etc)

Estimated Costs:

• Shirts: $15
• Sweatshirts: $25
• Hats: $15

YMCA Specific Free Time Activities

• Arts and Craft Building
• Crafts range from $5-85 and include things like jewelry making, silk dying, basket weaving, tie dye, etc

YMCA Camp Store and Snack Shop

• Serves coffee, bakery items, sandwiches, pizza, and snacks throughout the day.

• Camp store snacks, drinks, and trinkets
• Reusable water bottle (please label this!)
• Backpack or tote for sessions and activities‍
• Bath and beach towels (there are no towels provided)
• Pillow and blanket‍
• Snacks for rooms, free time, and/or the bus ride (we will NOT be providing snacks for each room)

Do Not Pack

• Computers, video game consoles, alcohol, drugs, schoolwork, explosives, or weapons of any kind. These will be taken up at check in, kept with our leadership, and returned to parents upon arrival in Austin or disposed of altogether.

Students will take charter buses from Austin to Estes Park, Colorado! While in Colorado, we’ll stay in dorm-style housing at YMCA of The Rockies. We’ll do our best to keep students together by small groups (DCOMMs) and friend groups, but they may have to be split into multiple rooms because of the size of the units! All rooms will be separated by gender. Plus, each room will have at least one fully-vetted volunteer present. Students who have invited friends will be kept together in the same group.

Any student that is currently in 6th through 12th grade! Our students are encouraged to invite any guests and friends too! We’ll make sure that any invited friends are in the same group as the student who invited them!

Students will be hanging out with their DCOMMs (small groups) and will be led by their DCOMM leaders. All of the leaders participating in Students Camp will have completed applications, interviews, background checks, child abuse prevention trainings, and other Austin Stone policy and procedure trainings. All Students directors, leads, and residents will be in attendance and will have screened all leaders coming to lead each group of students.

We typically ask students NOT to bring their cell phones to overnight events so that they can be fully present and not tempted to check out or consume content that would hinder what God might be trying to do during that event.

However, because students will be gone for almost a full week and will be several hours from home, we’re permitting students to bring their cell phones! We’ll require phones to be charged and stored by a leader’s bed at night (we’ll provide the power strips to make this possible). We’ll also be encouraging students to stay off of their phones when it’s clearly not appropriate.

Our standard retreat cell phone and digital devices policy can be found here.‍

Additionally, at check in you’ll receive your leader's contact information as well as your congregation staff's contact information in case you need to contact your student or you have any questions while your student is away. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to your student’s leader to check in on them!

Safety is the number one priority of our ministry and we believe it’s essential in order for ministry to happen. Here are the steps we’ve taken to prioritize the safety of your student(s) this summer.

• Adult Leaders: Every leader/adult coming with The Austin Stone to Students Camp will be fully onboarded which includes an application, interview, background check, sexual abuse awareness training, and Austin Stone policy and procedure training.
• Rule of Three: Middle school students must be in a group of three that includes a leader with them at all times. High school students must be in a group of at least three students at all times. 
• Separate Bus Seating for Girls and Guys: Students of opposite genders will not be permitted to sit next to each other while on the bus.
• Security: Our team makes frequent rounds around the camp property at a variety of times to make sure students are where they are supposed to be and when.
• Medical Staff: We bring at least two licensed medical staff with us to provide care throughout the week. They are responsible for dispensing medication and treating minor medical problems as they arise. 
• Ratios: We require that a leader may not be assigned to more than seven students.
• Travel: We have vetted bus companies and selected what we believe to be an extremely reliable and trustworthy option.

Accommodations

Each room has two sets of bunk beds and one queen-sized bed. All sheets and pillows will be provided. However, we strongly recommend your student bring their own pillow and blanket that they can also utilize on the overnight bus ride. Students are not permitted to be in the rooms without at least another student AND leader. Students will never share a bed with a leader. Students may share a queen-size bed with another student. 

Meals

All meals will be provided by the YMCA of the Rockies in their cafeteria-style buffet dining. 

Food Allergies 

YMCA of the Rockies will be providing all of our meals and is not a food-allergy friendly kitchen. The Austin Stone will be coordinating alternative options for people with food allergies that would hinder them from eating cross-contaminated foods. While special, outside alternative food options for vegans and vegetarians will not be provided, there will always be vegan and vegetarian food options served with every meal. We will not be able to accommodate special food preferences. On the registration form, there’s a place for you to let us know your students' food allergies. A member from our team will reach out to discuss our plan and make sure we have all the information we need in order for your student to have the best week possible. At check in, students will receive a wristband with their food allergies listed on it to help our staff quickly identify students' needs.

All medications must be turned in to the camp nurse at check in in the original prescription bottle. Prescription medications will be dispensed by the camp nurse. Students are not allowed to keep any form of medication (including over the counter medications) on them or in their cabins besides inhalers and/or epi pens. You’ll complete a medical form for your student that the nurse will reference any time care is provided while at camp.

Check out our full FAQ, packing, and schedule list by clicking here!