On behalf of the entire Berkshire Hills staff, thank you for choosing BHEC as the summer home for your child. We are going to have a great summer of fun, learning and growing together.  Whether you are a new family or BHEC old timers, please read all the information below so everything runs smoothly for you and your child this summer. If you have any questions about the information below or about anything else, please give us a call at (914) 693-8952.

New York State requires us to have three different medical forms for every camper before they arrive at camp; a Health History, a Health Exam and Individual Standing Orders and a Meningococcal Form. You can find all of these forms here. Your child will need to have seen a doctor within the last 12 months for those forms to be valid.  Please have forms completed and mailed to our winter office in Manhattan by May 15^th. We will not be able to allow your child to come to camp if we do not have these forms in their entirety with front and back copies of your insurance card.

In order for our Nurses to focus all of their  attention on campers who need medical assistance and to make sure we are in compliance with medical regulations, we are now requiring all medication in pill form to be sent to camp via a service called Camp Meds. Camp Meds takes your child’s prescription and sends then to camp in labeled individual doses. You must fill your prescription with Camp Meds by May 28^th or they will assess a $25 late fee. You can find all the Camp Meds information here. The fee payable to Camp Meds is $50. 

The Camp Health Center stocks over the counter medication like Tylenol, Advil and Benadryl.  You will not need to order medication like this from Camp Meds and please do not send it with your child to camp as it cannot be stored in the bunk. Medication such as refrigerated medications, rescue inhalers and Epi-pens that must accompany campers or any medications like antibiotics that a camper has started just prior to the start of camp may be sent on the bus and handed directly to a bus counselor as long as you have notified the Camp Health Center. 

Any other medications not listed above and not in pill form must be received at camp by Saturday, June 23^rd, so the health staff can be prepared for the start of camp. There will be a $150 charge – per medication – for any medication except refrigerated medications, rescue inhalers, Epi-pens and recently started medications like antibiotics that accompany a camper on the bus to camp. 

Campers may bring a small backpack of personal items with them on the bus. All other baggage must be transported to camp by ADS our luggage transportation company. You have the option of dropping your luggage at ADS’s central drop points for $100 or having your baggage collected directly from home at an additional cost. ADS information can be found at LINK.  In order to be fair to all of our families, campers bringing more than a small backpack for the bus ride will be charged $150.

Below is the list of apparel and other items your child will need for camp this summer. Please label everything (yes everything) with your child’s first and last name.  Please realize that many campers have the same initials.

 
Bedding:
2 sets of linens (cot or twin top sheet, bottom sheet and pillow case)
1 blanket
1 pillows
1 sleeping bag for out of camp trips or overnights

Daily Apparel: 
4 jeans or long pants 

10 tee-shirts, 3 long sleeved shirts 

4 nicer outfits for socials & Shabbat dinner (khaki shorts and collared shirt, skirt or sundress)

4 pairs pjs
4 sweatshirts 
1 jacket 

1 pair of rainy day shoes/rain boots
4 bathing suits 
1 bathing suit cover up
6 towels (3 for showers/3 for swim)
1 hat w/ brim


Toiletries:
Shower caddy
Shampoo & conditioner
1 toothbrush, 1 tube toothpaste 
1 soap dish/2 bars soap

Deodorant 
Hairbrush and Comb

1 bottle of sunscreen per week at camp
Insect repellent
Q-tips

Shower shoes
Laundry bag
Tissues
Washcloth

String backpack

Misc Items:

Sports equipment  (Please know camp is not responsible for any lost sports equipment)

Our optional items list includes some electronics that are allowed at camp. If an electronic device is not on this list, it may not be brought to camp.  We encourage you to think if your child really needs these items. Camp is a great place to disconnect from the world of electronics and enjoy human relationships, the environment and lots of great new activities.  Most of us have had times in our lives when we did live without these kinds of electronics (in many cases because they were not invented). Camp may well be the opportunity in our children’s lives to experience living without these devices.  Also please, remember that camp can not be responsible for any lost, stolen or broken equipment that is sent  to camp.

Battery operated fan
Battery operated reading light

Specific kinds of iPods: iPod Shuffle, iPod Nano and iPod Classic (all videos must be removed from the iPod Classic via iTunes before your child arrives at camp).

Small video games without wifi or 3G/4G/5G or any other wireless

Digital Cameras/Cameras as long as photographs are not taken inside of cabins, tents, hotel rooms and shower houses. Any cameras used in such places will be confiscated.

Senior Unit campers may bring cell phones for the five day trips. These cell phones must be given to the Unit Leader upon arrival at camp.

Below is a list of things not to bring to camp. We expect everyone to honor this list. In the event that an individual is suspected of having any of the items below, camp reserves the right to search for the items and remove them.

We will have lots of good food at camp and plenty of it. Food in cabins attracts critters. We want children to enjoy the wildlife at camp, but we don’t want it in their bunks/shacks or cabins. Please do not send any food, candy, gum, drinks, or other food stuffs to camp. All packages sent to camp will be opened prior to delivery. We cannot store food so any food in packages will disposed of and will not reach your child. Please let anyone sending a package to camp know this. Families with children who are used to drinking bottled water may bring water if they think they need to do so.

No alcohol, tobacco products, drug or controlled substances are allowed at camp. Any camper violating this rule will be dismissed immediately.

Cell phones, smartphones, digital video players, e-readers (Kindle, Nook, etc), tablets (iPad, Galaxy Tab, iPod Touch, etc), laptops and video cameras and any other electronics not on the list above are not allowed at camp. Any device that is equipped with a Wi-Fi connection or 3g/4g data connection is NOT permitted at camp. All tablets, smartphones, the iPod Touch and e-readers fall into this

category. Please check your child’s belonging to make sure they have not packed any of these devices.

No camper pets or cars in camp.