This is our second year sending our kids to this camp, but unfortunately, it will likely be our last. My daughter’s experience was ruined by a CIT who was consistently rude and unengaging—and that was only the beginning. During an overnight trip, my daughter was forced to remove her small earrings to participate in an activity, even though she was wearing a helmet that completely covered them. Her counselor took possession of the earrings for safekeeping and promptly lost them, but promised my daughter she would be compensated. If my daughter had lost them herself, this wouldn't be an issue, but the staff took responsibility for them and failed. To make matters worse, the administration’s response was appalling. It took three follow-up emails and a phone call just to get a response from the rabbi, only for him to completely dodge any accountability. I was bluntly told the camp is not responsible and will not compensate us for the loss. The lack of responsibility, poor communication, and refusal to hold their staff accountable is completely unprofessional. I am extremely disappointed in how this administration handled the situation.
Response from the organization6 days ago Dear Marina, Thank you for choosing Fair Lawn Jewish Day Camp for your daughter's second summer! Returning campers are our greatest compliment, and we are truly grateful to have had your family with us again. We would like to share our perspective and clarify a few details regarding the lost earrings. We understand how frustrating and upsetting a situation like this can be and we wish things could be different. The activity in question was rock climbing and our top priority is always camper safety. The rock-climbing professionals who were leading the activity for us required earrings to be removed because helmets can press against the ear and cause injury. We want to gently correct the impression that your daughter was forced to remove them; she voluntarily chose to take them out so she could participate in this optional activity, and she specifically asked her counselor to hold them for safekeeping. Camp is a highly active environment with constant movement, especially on an overnight trip, which is exactly why our camper supply list explicitly states that "expensive items and valuables" should remain at home. When you registered, you also signed a waiver of responsibility acknowledging that the camp is not liable for items on the "do not bring" list. Because your daughter’s counselor was acting in her campers best interest to help her safely enjoy the activity, and because these valuables were brought to camp against our stated policies which you signed off on, we advised our staff member that she was not obligated to pay for them out of pocket. Regarding your note about the CIT, we always want our campers to have an exceptional experience. From our observations, your daughter thoroughly enjoyed her time with us and her devoted staff. We truly wish you had brought this issue about the CIT to our attention before she completed her five weeks at camp so we could have addressed it constructively for her right then and there. We are truly sorry that you felt your concerns were met with poor communication and a lack of accountability from our administration, as that is never our intention. Because the overnight trip occurred on your daughter's second-to-last day of camp and went right into the weekend, it took us a bit more time than anticipated to speak with the staff involved and gather all the necessary facts. While we apologize that we could not resolve this before her final day, please know we are actively reviewing how this situation was handled so we can improve our communication timeline with parents in the future. In our email response to you explaining this situation, we extended an invitation to discuss this further over the phone. While you decided to write this review instead, our door remains open. We would still welcome a call to discuss your concerns directly.