Our goal is for your child to have a successful summer interacting with other campers, participating in fun activities, and gaining independence. If your child has an IEP, 504 plan or if you think they could benefit from a little extra help, Camp Chaverim might be a good fit! If your child does not currently have any behavior intervention plans, but you believe they would benefit from a 1:1 counselor during the Camp Shalom day, then Camp Chaverim is for you!

After you fill out the “get to know you” form, you’ll be contacted for an in person interview. Using those tools, we will decide together if Camp Chaverim is the right place for your camper to spend the summer!

Your camper will be paired with a 1:1 advocate counselor. This advocate will be with your child at all times and will be a friend and an advocate making sure that the rest of the cabin group is practicing inclusion and supporting your camper as needed! The program is also supervised by the Camp Chaverim Coordinator. Additionally, the Inclusion Coordinator will work with families individually to decide if a 1:1 counselor, or a different accommodation is appropriate. (Other accommodations might include: coming to camp with a 1:1 aide your child is already working with; alternate scheduling; etc.)

Yes! In this case, Camp Shalom will pay for a background check. The aide would be held to the same expectations as the rest of the camp staff. Should you choose this option, Camp Shalom will waive the additional fee.

We will work with you to identify the appropriate age and activity group for your child.

We will work with you to determine if each week’s field trip is a good fit for your camper. If you would prefer for them to stay in camp, they will join a different group for the day!

You will communicate primarily with the Camp Chaverim Coordinator. They will contact you by phone with any urgent issues. Your child’s counselor will also communicate with you to share details of your camper’s day. We’ll also make sure that you can share important information about your camper with the Camp Chaverim Coordinator on a daily basis.

We ask that campers register for a minimum of two weeks at a time. This allows your camper to bond with their buddy counselor and make new friends! We are committed to being flexible and will work with you if your camper’s schedule needs to be altered.

Camp Chaverim costs $200 per week in addition to the general camp costs. Scholarships are available: https://campshalomjstg.wpengine.com/about us/financial-assistance/.

In order for Camp Shalom to adequately serve our neurodiverse (ND) and physically disabled campers, we created Camp Chaverim to provide an equitable and inclusive summer camp experience. The goal of this program is to seamlessly integrate ND and physically disabled children into the typical camp day with any accommodations provided. Chaverim campers are paired with a 1:1 counselor who focus on advocating the camper’s needs to the group counselors/leader, facilitating social inclusion and friendships, and supporting any specific needs their camper requires.

Chaverim counselors are hand-picked young adults (18+) who have passion and experience for serving ND campers. They are engaging, empathetic, inclusive counselors who LOVE camp and cannot wait to build relationships with their 1:1 buddy!