You’ve Got Mail!Posted by Beigette Gill on May 14, 2013

The Mail System at Camp
From Alicia

One of the most exciting aspects of the camp day is when mail is delivered. Hearing from someone from home, be it a friend, sibling, parent or other family member, can have an enormous impact on a camper or CIT’s day. Even a short note is something that many Fernwood Cove girls look forward to. As we all prepare for the summer here are some tidbits to help you better understand the mail system at camp.

Friends and family can write to their camper(s) via email and written letters. When sending a letter please use the following address:

Camper Name
Bunk*
Fernwood Cove
350 Island Pond Rd
Harrison, ME 04040

*Bunk assignments will be made available after campers have arrived in camp.

(Make sure to use your camper’s full name as we have many girls with the same or similar names.)

It is important to know the following about our local US Postal Service delivery:

• Fernwood Cove generates and receives more mail during the summer months than the entire Town of Harrison generates and receives during the winter holidays. The increase from our mail load coupled with the increases from other area camps can cause delays in mail delivery. We assure you that we are getting mail in and out of camp as quickly as we can.
• The local post office recently informed us that due to recent cutbacks there is one less mail carrier for the Town of Harrison. The two remaining mail carriers must now complete the entire town’s mail delivery. Due to this we will receive our incoming mail later in the day, thus creating a situation where we will no longer be able to get incoming mail to campers on the same day that it arrives. Incoming mail will be sorted when it arrives to camp and delivered to the bunks during Rest Hour the following day.
• We often get mail returned to us due to illegible or improper addresses. Having pre-printed address labels is a great asset, particularly for younger campers who aren’t accustomed to sending items in the mail. This will help ensure that your daughter’s mail reaches its intended destination.

Campers have the opportunity to write home daily; however not everyone takes the time to write home regularly. To help ensure there is a flow of communication home, we have two “Letter Writing Days” each week where we expect each camper to write at least one letter home. Do not become alarmed if you receive a letter that simply states “Hi Mom & Dad” or something similar to “It’s Letter Writing Day, I had to write this.” Short notes are a sign that your daughter is happy and healthy and much more interested in hanging out with her friends. If for some reason you are alarmed by something your daughter has written to you please contact us so that we can remedy the situation and reassure you that your daughter is doing just fine.

When receiving letters home it is important to remember that there is a time delay in this information transmission. Often days have passed since your daughter completed and mailed her letter home. More often than not any issues that she may write home about have been identified and addressed well before the letter makes it home to you. At camp we often say “A day is like a week. A week is like a month. And a month is like a year.” When thinking in this mindset, the activities and events mentioned in her letters home are well in the past.

It is key to remember this timeline in the mail system when receiving the first letters of the summer. As campers transition into camp there will be moments of missing home- this is perfectly normal. These feelings typically surface during quiet times, particularly during the first few nights of camp. These times are also when campers have easy access to their letter writing materials. This “perfect storm” combination often causes sad and “homesick” letters to go home in the early days of camp. The first letters typically make it home 3-5 days after camp has begun. By this point the woes of transitioning into camp have all but vanished from camp. If your daughter is having significant difficulty transitioning to camp we will contact you and let you know about the situation and how we are assisting your daughter continue her transition to camp. We recognize that these can be very difficult times as parents, however know that we are working to ensure that every Fernwood Cove girl has the best camp experience possible.

We recognize that in today’s society we are accustomed to having an immediate, instantaneous flow of communication. While we focus on breaking away from our electronics and getting ‘back to basics’ while we’re at camp; we have developed a 1-Way Email System for friends and family to write to their camper. (The directions for the 1-Way Email System are located in the Parent Resource Book.) When sending 1-way emails please note the following:

• If you have more than one daughter at camp you should email your daughters individually to ensure they both receive an email from you. The computer system automatically sorts the emails by the bunk that you enter. If you email multiple people in the same email message the only person who will actually receive a printout of the email is the person living in the bunk you chose when completing the email.
• If you do not know your daughter’s bunk, the system will then sort it by her name. Please be sure to use her name that she is referred to at camp to ensure the email gets to her. (I.e. the computer system will not recognize “Rae” as a shortened version of “Rachel”.)
• Emails are printed at 7 AM Daily. Once printed, they are individually folded and added to the regular mail to be delivered for the day. If you send an email after the 7 AM print time it will remain in the system until 7 AM the following day.
• Campers do not have access to the email system. Their only way of responding to emails is via written letters mailed home.

The final aspect of the mail service is Camper Packages. Receiving a package often creates lots of excitement and tons of smiles. Please keep the following package policies in mind so that we can all be sure that receiving a package remains a positive experience for everyone.

• Campers may receive 1 package during their time at camp. A special birthday package is allowed, please be sure that the package is marked as such, with a “deliver on” date.
• We have a zero food & candy tolerance. Packages are opened in front of staff members who are expected to search the package contents for any food, candy, etc. that may have been included. Please save yourself the hassle of hiding items in packages. This only creates more work for our staff and a huge disappointment for your daughter as she is not allowed to keep these items.
• Packages should be meaningful. Excess things create clutter in the bunks. Remember that any contents you send will need to leave camp when it’s time for your daughter to return home.

As you prepare for your daughter to come to camp, please take the time to write her a few letters or emails that will be at camp when she arrives- having positive, encouraging letters waiting for her will help her start off her Fernwood Cove experience on the right foot. Be sure that your letters focus on the positive aspects of her time away- the new activities, new experiences, new friends, etc. Share the camp address and one-way email system with close friends and family so that your daughter receives mail early and often.