At Chestnut Ridge, we want every child to have the opportunity to experience camp! The Campership Assistance Program makes this possible. Camperships are a 3-dimensional partnership between the local churches and other community support agencies, the NC United Methodist Camp & Retreat Ministries, and families of campers. Camperships can be awarded for one week of camp per child each summer. Camperships are based on financial need and unusual family hardship and are considered on a case-by-case basis. 

 

How to apply for a Campership:

1. Register your child(ren) for the desired summer program- they must be registered for us to evaluate them for a Campership!

2. Contact a local UMC Church, other denominational church, or a local support agency to seek possible financial support with the Campership need.

3. Complete the Campership application linked below.

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Once you have registered for summer camp and submitted your Campership application, including funds allocated for your camper from a supporting church or agency, we will review the submission.

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Our Campership Fund is funded by an endowment and the generous gifts of individuals and local United Methodist Churches each year. We are able to grant a limited number of partial camperships. It is our expectation that the camper and their local church, or one in their community, will have made commitments to the cost of the event prior to seeking campership funds. These funds are intended for use by those campers who have extreme need or circumstance.

 

The Board of Directors has adopted the policy of funding most of the camp’s annual operating expenses with user fee dollars. This decision means that fees control, in large part, the quality of the ministry experience Chestnut Ridge seeks to offer. While recognizing that some sacrifice is appropriate for something as vital as children’s summer experience and spiritual growth, we benefit from financial assistance from churches, civic organizations, and external sources such as the Myra Morris Campership Fund. Campership assistance will continue to be necessary in order to build and maintain the sort of camp alumni Chestnut Ridge aspires to have. Consequently, significant matching funds have been devoted toward camper fee assistance.

 

In an effort to allocate resources wisely and fairly, Chestnut Ridge uses the campership request form to determine what a family should reasonably contribute toward summer camp fees. All information from the form, as with all personal camper files, is kept confidential.