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Forum -> Household Management -> Finances

Camp tips

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amother

Dodgerblue

Wed, Aug 15 2018, 9:11 am

No one started an anti- camp-tips thread yet?
what is normal? my kids camp sent a suggestion list which is 10% of camp fees!
how much do I need to really send?

saw50st8

Wed, Aug 15 2018, 9:17 am

I tip all the kids the requested amount because they are paid peanuts (and sometimes not at all) and have no negotiating power.

I don't always tip the adults, who can negotiate their own salary.

I was thrown off at the beginning but now I budget for it because with 4 kids it ends up being a lot of money.

1091

Wed, Aug 15 2018, 10:06 am

My daughters who are staff members at different camps are adamant that we did their younger siblings’ counselors at least what is expected.

The counselors work hard and where my girls’ work get paid $200.

The alternative would be for the camp to pays the counselors more and increase camp fees.

octopus

Wed, Aug 15 2018, 11:01 am

I usually tip the expected amount. However, if my child was not taken care of in the way that I deem proper, no, I will not tip you. Like the time when my first grader came home with the worst sunburn even though I had sent her with sunblock. Or if an adult that works in the same building tells me that my dd's counselors run away from their bunk...

mom39

Wed, Aug 15 2018, 12:28 pm

I usually give the full amt to counselors since they are responsible for campers half the day and the evening. All they get is youth corp, if they get it, or a nominal amt. The Rebbe gets a free bungalow for his family, food for his family, free camp for his kids and a salary - so I just give a token tip if I have money left over

flowerpower

Wed, Aug 15 2018, 12:36 pm

We don’t have a suggested tip note but I give a certain amount per counselor and bus driver.... I feel that they work hard and deserve it.

amother

Lavender

Wed, Aug 15 2018, 12:46 pm

flowerpower wrote:

We don’t have a suggested tip note but I give a certain amount per counselor and bus driver.... I feel that they work hard and deserve it.

They definitely work hard and deserve every bit of it. But if I don't have the means, where does that leave me at?

mom39

Wed, Aug 15 2018, 12:59 pm

amother wrote:

They definitely work hard and deserve every bit of it. But if I don't have the means, where does that leave me at?

Give a nice note with whatever you could afford. Sometimes a nice note is worth more than the tip

amother

Bisque

Wed, Aug 15 2018, 1:05 pm

My kids day camp counselors (teenagers) get paid 1500$ for 7 weeks of camp. They also go on special staff trips organized and sponsored by the camp. No one tips. I send a card and chocolate and very few other parents do even that.

flowerpower

Wed, Aug 15 2018, 1:40 pm

amother wrote:

They definitely work hard and deserve every bit of it. But if I don't have the means, where does that leave me at?

Neither do I! I give something. Something is better than nothing.

amother

Brown

Wed, Aug 15 2018, 1:45 pm

mom39 wrote:

Just so you know, youth corp pays really well. Way more than you think. But OP didnt indicate that she is in NY and youth corp is only in nyc.

I’ve worked at nyc day camps as a preschool morah and was paid really well plus free camp for my kids. And the parents were told to give us $50/each for tips. I no longer live in NY and my kid’s camps suggest that we tip but dont specify an amount, and my daughter is a JC at a backyard camp, the same one that I sent my son to last summer, and I am suspicious that the owner is stealing their tips. We’ll find out for sure tomorrow. As a former adult camp morah, mother of campers, wife of a camp rebbe and counselor who gets tips, mother of kids (who I habe to tip on behalf of), and mother of a JC, I say that the tipping culture stinks and its time to stop it. My daughter signed up to make peanuts. Her choice. Parents dont need to subsidize her pay so the owner can make her salary for the year! The owner comes in from Israel every summer and makes this backyard camp and lives off it all year. Good for her! And it doesnt feel good as a morah to accept tips that parents are coerced into giving!

amother

Amber

Wed, Aug 15 2018, 2:18 pm

I tip the recommended amount though 10% sounds a bit much (unless it's a very cheap camp?) Fact is, unless this is your first time sending to camp, you this is coming. When you sign up for camp, you need to keep in mind that the listed price is NOT the real price and that you're going to be asked for tips. Same as if you have $100 to spend on a restaurant meal, you're not actually able to buy $100 worth of food.

Yeah I'd rather they just list the full price of camp, pay the counselors properly, and do away with the whole tipping thing. But until that happens, I'm not going to be the one to stiff the hardworking kids who helped take care of my kids. And when I look at the price when signing up, I mentally add in the $150 or whatever it is per kid.

amother

Teal

Wed, Aug 15 2018, 2:40 pm

Not every kid gets youth corp in Ny. My kids go to a camp where some kids are making $300 a summer and some are making over a 1000. You just don't know. $300 a summer is nothing. Camp is exhausting and really hard. Give what you can but don't not tip bc you think the counselors are making a lot of money.

Ruchel

Wed, Aug 15 2018, 2:52 pm

I would discard suggestions. I don't tip camps.

amother

Lawngreen

Wed, Aug 15 2018, 3:16 pm

amother wrote:

100%! My neice worked really hard being a first grade counselor first half. Like really hard. She got paid very little. Very few tipped. Even if you give $10 or so it shows you appreciated them.

princessleah

Wed, Aug 15 2018, 3:21 pm

Hooray for my day camp's no-tipping policy! LOL

Zionist socialism at work!

I will however, tip the bus driver.

It's really great. here's the email I got:

Quote:

We believe that avoiding a tipping system creates a more equitable work environment for all staff. We also find that it helps us maintain a camp culture of community rather than service economy.
Perhaps most importantly, this policy distances the socioeconomic status of families from the care that each individual child receives at camp.

amother

Jetblack

Wed, Aug 15 2018, 3:22 pm

Camps charge $1400-1500 per kid. It is not my fault that they pay their counselors peanuts! After I pay that I do not expect a letter suggesting I tip their rebbis, counselors, jcs, and cits. That's $100 more per kid! Let the camp do that!

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