Applying for financial assistance at Sherman Lake YMCA is easy and confidential. Scholarships are provided to ensure the Sherman Lake YMCA Camp experience is accessible to all.

For more information and to apply, please visit our Financial Assistance page.

Diversity and inclusion training is an integral part of both full-time and seasonal staff training. During our interview process, all applicants are asked about inclusion and how they feel they can make Sherman Lake Y more inclusive. Our camp training evolves every season to address the most pressing topics, to build upon past training for returning staff, and to incorporate learnings from the previous season. During camp staff training, topics such as privilege, sensory inclusion, implicit bias, and conflict resolution are explored broadly and then applied to real-life camp scenarios.

Safety is always our number one priority. We don’t just strive for children to be safe while at Sherman Lake YMCA, but outside in the real world. That is why all of our staff are not only nationally background checked, but all staff that work with children are mandatory reporters and are trained on appropriate boundaries with children. Every policy and rule we have is made to create and teach about healthy and safe relationships. It’s up to all of us adults to prevent abuse and create a safe environment.

As a caregiver and a safe adult for your children and/or campers, here are some helpful tools for you to use year-round to help teach children how to stay safe.

Teach your child about their body, with proper body part names. This will allow them to correct words when they need to tell someone anything about an injury or rash or other problems.

Teach about appropriate physical touch. Children understand when rules are about safety, such as no hitting or wearing your seatbelt. Add rules about physical contact to include “never let other people touch your private parts.”

Teach your child consent. Their body is their own and they have the right to say no to any contact, even something simple like a high five or a hug.

Teach your child what to do if someone breaks the rules about touching them. They should know what to say to that person, to move away, and to tell a safe adult.

Teach your child to tell you or another safe adult if someone breaks a rule about touching them. Tell them to keep telling someone until someone responds and does something about it.

If you sense something is wrong - you see a sudden change in behavior or hear unusual comments - here are ways you can talk to any child in your life. Find a relaxed time to talk one on one. If they tell you about something inappropriate, ask for an example or for more details without leading questions. If the actions were inappropriate, but not actual abuse, make sure to talk to the teacher or adult in charge to ensure corrections are made.

If a child discloses abuse, how you respond plays a big role. Follow these steps to help.

Listen. Stay calm and let them talk. Ask minimal questions that will allow you to understand what happened without leading.

Reassure. They may be confused, angry, and scared. Use a few simple comments like “I know this is hard to talk about, you are very brave for bringing this up.” “You are doing the right thing by letting someone know.” “This isn’t your fault.” “I’m very sorry this happened to you.”

Protect. Make sure they’re safe and do not let the accused person have any further contact with them.

Report. Write down everything they shared, in as much detail as possible using their actual words, not your own interpretation. Report concerns or abuse to your local police department.

As mentioned before, the safety of the children at Sherman Lake YMCA is our number one priority. In the event that a staff member believes a form of abuse has happened, they will communicate it directly to their supervisor. The situation will be reported as required by mandatory reporters and the CEO will be the lead staff member in charge.

Sherman Lake YMCA has partnered with KultureCity, a non-profit organization recognized throughout the nation for utilizing its resources to revolutionize and effect change in the community for individuals with sensory needs or those with invisible disabilities. We’re very proud to be the first YMCA to partner with them.

Our certification with KultureCity includes staff training on recognizing sensory needs and how to handle sensory overload situations. We are also equipped with sensory bags that have various tools to help campers deal with sensory overload and engage with others. Prior to Camp, families are encouraged look at our social story to help prepare, either through the Kulture City app or website, at https://venue.kulturecity.org/venues/sherman-lake-ymca.

At Sherman Lake YMCA, we work with parents/guardians to help ensure ‘SUCCESS FOR EVERY CHILD’. We recognize that what success looks like for each camper may be different and strive to be proactive in developing resources and strategies that work best for your camper. Though camp is a fun and immersive environment, it can also be a stressful space for many campers as they navigate a new environment that may be vastly different from their home routine for any number of reasons. We have an extensive training program for our staff, which is centered around inclusion and working with campers of all needs.

Make sure to fill out all required forms as early as you can. Campers who may be challenged in the camp setting are best supported at camp if we are able to anticipate the challenges before camp and can develop an action plan with parents, guardians, and our camp team. Our staff team goes through all camper forms and will follow up with you prior to camp, if necessary, for clarification and questions, to determine the best way to serve your camper. If your camper has any specific physical health, mental health, or behavioral accommodations that are desired or required for success, please contact our Camp Director 30 days prior to your session to discuss further.

Communication During Camp

We know! It can be tough not being able to see and talk with your camper every day. Parents are encouraged to stay in touch with their campers by:

• Mail - We encourage letters for communicating with your camper. Many families choose to mail letters early or drop them off during check-in to ensure they’re received while their child is at camp. We also suggest supplying campers with paper and pre-addressed stamped envelopes to make it easy to write home!

• Email: A link to our one-way email system will be provided at check-in. Emails are printed daily and distributed to campers after lunch during mail call.

• Photos: Photos are posted throughout the week; a link to our photo gallery will be provided during check-in. While we take a wide variety of photos, we cannot promise campers will have their photo taken every day (if a camper asks us not to take their photos, we will respect that).

Journals: Every camper will receive a journal to write and draw in during their week at camp. This is a great tool to use when they come home to talk about their camp experience!

When Camp Staff Will Contact Parents

If your child is ill, struggling behaviorally, makes a request to switch cabins, expresses suicidal/self-harm thoughts or discloses abuse, our Camp Director or a member of our staff will contact you directly.

Campers and staff of all gender-identities are welcome at Sherman Lake YMCA Camp. We hire staff of many gender identities and train all of our staff in gender-inclusive practices.

In the event that a camper expresses that their gender, pronouns, or name is different from what was listed on their registration forms, we will honor, support, and validate the camper. We will inform you only if your child gives us their express consent. Similarly, in the event that your child comes out as LGBTQ+ while at camp, we will inform you only if your child gives us their express consent.

While Sherman Lake YMCA Camp encourages campers to share their camp stories with their families upon their return home, we respect a camper’s right to determine what they share or don’t share with their parents/guardians provided it doesn’t interfere with the health or welfare of the camper or the camp community.

Sherman Lake YMCA Camp will support campers and will not coerce, force, or compel a camper to identify in any way.

To provide a more inclusive experience for all campers, we have all-gender cabin option for our campers*. This cabin is open to any camper, no matter their gender or gender identity. Campers may be interested in an all-gender cabin because they do not feel like they fit in a male or female cabin or if they feel like they would like a cabin of all genders. We will be asking if your camper would like to be in an all-gender cabin in the ‘Camper Questions’ form on your CampInTouch account.

*All-gender cabins are available in 2024 for sessions 2, 6 ,8 and 9 for campers entering 7th grade & up. For 6th graders & below, all-gender cabins are available for sessions 3, 5 and 7.

Our goal is to offer at least one all-gender cabin for each session of overnight camp but this will ultimately depend on the interest level each week. If you choose "Yes" to this option on the ‘Camper Questions’ form and we are unable to offer an all-gender cabin for the week your camper is attending, we will contact you to discuss the best option for your camper.

No matter what cabin your child chooses to reside in, privacy and personal boundaries have always been and will remain a standard expectation and are discussed at the beginning of every week. Every camper has their own bunk and designated space for their personal items. All campers have access to a private bathroom and changing space.

Benefits of gender-inclusive spaces at camp:

• There are no barriers to inclusion in the space or need to conform to societal expectations.

• Creates a broader understanding and empathy for people of all genders.

• Those who live outside of the traditional gender binary are included holistically.

• People who are included in the space have a chance to learn from peers they would not usually be housed with.

• Activities are more likely to be chosen based on likes than gender stereotypes.

Counselors are asked prior to the camping season which cabins they are comfortable leading and sleeping in, just like campers. All female cabins will have female counselors and all male cabins will have male counselors. An all-gender cabin could have counselors of any gender.

Campers are assigned to cabins based on age/grade, and gender. On the Camper Questions form, we ask if campers are interested in being in an all-gender cabin. Only campers that opt-in to the all-gender cabin, will be put in that cabin. All other campers will be put in a cabin based on their selected gender.

Other factors that influence cabin assignments are cabin mate requests, staffing capacity, accommodation of medical needs, etc. Campers will not be assigned to a gendered cabin that they did not select during the registration process.

Campers and staff are invited to share their name and pronouns during cabin and large group introductions regardless of which cabin they are in. Campers and staff do not have to share their pronouns if they do not want to and with an absence of stated pronouns, will be referred to by name. Campers and staff may change their name and pronouns as often as they would like and staff are trained to offer the opportunity to share names and pronouns regularly throughout the week.

If your child expresses the desire to switch lodging from what was originally assigned, we will work with both the camper and custodial parent(s)/ legal guardian(s) to develop a plan that takes into consideration the camper’s mental, emotional, and physical safety, as the wellbeing of our campers is our number one priority. We will NOT change your camper’s lodging WITHOUT PARENTAL CONSENT.

No matter what cabin your child chooses to reside in, privacy and personal boundaries are a standard expectation and are discussed at the beginning of every week. Every camper has their own bunk and designated space for their personal items. All campers have access to a private bathroom and changing space. For campers who require gender affirming undergarments or prosthetics, we recommend they come with a bag that can be kept in their bunk and easily brought to washing machines for care and cleaning throughout the week as needed.

Counselors are trained on privacy measures such as speaking to campers who may need extra support away from the larger group, discussing with all campers the importance of privacy, and making it known that privacy measures are for all campers not just campers with “exceptional requirements”, setting out rules on respecting privacy including a camper’s right to not be touched by others without permission (even in so-called benign ways like hugs or high fives), and that campers stay out of each other’s bunks and belongings.

Sherman Lake YMCA Camp maintains staff to camper ratios in accordance with American Camp Association standards. A minimum staff/camper ratio of 1:8 for our youngest campers and 1:10 for our older campers is always maintained. Staff are in cabins with campers whenever campers are. Staff are trained to never be alone with campers and to maintain the appropriate balance of privacy and supervision.

Counselors have been trained to prioritize the safety of campers over the curiosity or discomfort of another camper. To be a little uncomfortable is a good way to grow, feeling unsafe is traumatizing. If there is a chronic issue of bullying in a cabin or a group, steps will be taken to attempt to resolve the issue at camp; if this is not possible the camper doing the bullying will be sent home.

There are two types of showers and bathrooms at camp. The first is the gender neutral bathroom in each cabin. All cabins have a shower and toilet that are private with a locking door. There is a sink in a separate partition. The second is our gendered washhouses. Each washhouse has multiple bathroom stalls and shower stalls. The shower stalls have shower curtains that divide the space for changing and shower space. All stalls have standard locking mechanisms.

Campers will change before and after swimming times. We swim at the waterfront and in our Recreation Center’s pool. The waterfront has single-gender changing spaces and gender-neutral changing spaces. There are also bathroom stalls. The Recreation Center offers male, female, and family locker rooms. Campers use the locker rooms to store belongings and change in the bathroom stalls. The family locker room consists of two totally private changing and bathrooms spaces that are gender-neutral.

Campers choose which washroom they are most comfortable using. When campers need to use the bathroom or changing space during the day, staff will position themselves in the entrance area to ensure no bullying or inappropriate behaviors occur. Campers that are older, have earned the privilege and trust, and feel comfortable with it, may travel in a “truddy” (a group of three) and let the staff know which space they are headed to.

There is no way for us to guarantee romantic feelings towards another person will not occur at Camp. That was true before incorporating gender-inclusive practices and will remain true. That said, there are many ways we can ensure that if romantic feelings develop they are safe, healthy and not physical while at camp:

• Campers are not allowed in each other’s beds - this is an existing cabin rule.

• Campers are always supervised and, if they are not directly supervised, staff have been told where the camper is going and will check in if they have been gone for more time than whatever activity they are doing should require (ie. grabbing a sweater, or going to the bathroom). Campers are always in a group of three or more at all times.

• Staff talk about consent with campers as part of everyday activities including rock wall, low ropes, and swimming.

• Romantic relationships at Camp are discouraged. Instead, staff are trained to talk to campers about the goals of camp and healthy relationships. We discuss that camp is about building strong friendships in the cabin and what a healthy relationship feels or sounds like.

Campers that choose an all-gender cabin are most likely to choose it because they are in a gender minority or because they are going to camp with a family member or friend of a different gender. Additionally, single-gender cabins do not necessarily prevent romantic feelings from occurring. Forming romantic relationships is not why campers come to Sherman Lake YMCA Camp; they are much more focused on the jam-packed day of activities keeping them busy than seriously pursuing a romantic relationship. This does not change because of the gender makeup of the cabin.

If campers have begun transitioning prior to their camp session, we will continue to validate and support them while at camp. If your camper has begun any physical alterations as part of their transition, our medical staff are trained to support and assist them. If your camper requires additional support with assistive devices or medications, please indicate that in the ‘Tips For Success’ portion of their Camp forms. No medications or transitioning assistive aids will be administered without parental consent.

There are no medical or psychological studies that support this claim. Most campers will not even notice most gender inclusive practices as being specifically ‘gender inclusive’. Many campers, regardless of gender, want a private place to change. All campers deserve safety, privacy, respect for their body and belongings and a place to sleep at night where they feel safe and respected. Campers are usually so focused on their own camp experience, it is unlikely they will even notice the changes.

We love questions that come from genuine curiosity and are asked in a respectful way to the right people! If your camper has a question about our gender-inclusive practices prior to Camp we are happy to speak to them.

If they have a question during Camp, they can ask their counselor, a leadership team member, or one of the Directors who will answer their question to the best of their ability. We are happy to answer questions about how we make these practices work, clarify misunderstandings, and even share why this is important to us. In all our conversations, we operate with the understanding that trans, non-binary and queer campers are loved and valuable and that we will do our best at Sherman Lake YMCA Camp to ensure that they know this to be true through our gender-inclusive actions and not just our words.