IMPORTANT DATES – 2024 SEASON:

Staff are expected to arrive at camp according to the following schedule: 

Kitchen/Maintenance/Housekeeping Staff - Thursday, June 20th by 1:00 PM 

Group Leaders/Nurses/Admin - Monday, June 24th by 2:00 PM 

Program Staff (i.e. Counselors, Specialists) - Wednesday, June 26th by 2:00 PM 

August only staff - Friday, July 26th

A Staff bus will leave from  NYC (Please arrive at the bus stop by 11:00 AM on Wednesday, June 26th);  Details below.

Campers Arrive                                Sunday, June 30th

First Session (July) Ends                           FRIDAY, July 26th

2nd Session (August) STAFF arrives                Friday, July 26th

Second Session (August) Begins                     Sunday, July 28th

Camp Season Ends                           Saturday, August 17th

USEFUL INFORMATION for Staff

Your address while at camp:

(Your Name) – “Staff”

c/o Camp Kinderland

1543 Colebrook River Road

Tolland MA 01034

Office Phone:                                                          413-258-4463

If someone calls the office looking for you, we will post messages for you to retrieve on the office porch bulletin board.  Everyone has cell phones, but if for some reason you need to use a camp phone for personal business, we have cell phones available for camper use, which you can also use.  Just check at the office.  

Cell phones: Kids are not allowed to have cell phones.  Please do not use your cell phones in front of the kids -- it's just not that nice.

Computer Access:  We will have one or two computer workstations set up that you are welcome to use during the day and reasonably into the evening.  We also have several laptops available.  Please be mindful when people are waiting to use the computers and try not to monopolize them.  

Laptops: While laptops with wireless capability should be able to access the internet in or near the office, you might want to think twice about bringing your laptop to camp.  You’re in the woods, it’s damp, there’s endless dirt and dust—not the optimal conditions for your precious two thousand dollar computer.  On top of that, there aren’t many locks in camp, and while we are for the most part a trustworthy community, a few iphones have walked off over the years.  The best way to take care of your computer, or any expensive contraption, is not to bring it.

If you decide not to heed this warning and you do bring your laptop to camp, you should be able to access the internet -- see note regarding WiFi below. 

Wifi - We use several hotspots for WiFi up at camp.  We keep two in the office,  so you should be able to access the internet in or in the vicinity of the office.  We also disperse the hotspots in an effort to give staff access to the internet from their living space. 

But...we don't have infinite hotspot and therefore cannot guarantee we'll be able to cover all staff housing with a Wi-Fi signal.  

If you need internet access outside of the office area for a specific reason (meeting, virtual doctor's appointment, job interview, etc.) let Mike Salop know in the office ahead of time and he'll try to figure it out with you.  However, please DO NOT just take one of the hotspots without checking first.  

Some cell phones can be used as  a mobile hotspot, and some people choose to up their plans with the cell phone carriers to unlimited data for the summer in order to solve the problem. 

Travel Policy can be found by following this link.

Packing List: If you're not sure what to pack, here's a handy-dandy packing list.

Dogs: You may not bring your dog to camp. 

ANTI-DISCRIMINATION AND HARASSMENT POLICY.

PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING…

1 - Pre-Camp Orientation

Orientation begins on Wednesday June 26th. Please plan to arrive at camp no later than 2:00 pm. Directions by car can be found below. If you need help making travel arrangements to Tolland, please call the camp office at (718) 643-0771.

Kitchen staff should arrive at camp by 1:00 PM on Thursday,  June 20nd, unless you've already made other arrangements with Cindy Zingher.  

All July staff members are required to attend Orientation. This DOES NOT include staff who are only working in August - (We will have an abridged orientation for August staff when they arrive on Friday, July 26th). A tremendous amount of communication and integration takes place during Orientation, and participating is both a great experience, and an important part of your job.  In addition, it is the only chance you will have to settle in before the campers arrive.  Again, attendance is required.  (If you haven’t done so already, please call or email to discuss conflicts with graduation, etc.)

2 - Transportation to Camp - Staff bus leaves from the NYC.        

On Wednesday, July 26th, a staff bus will leave from New York City -- Buses will depart from Lehman College, Bedford Park Blvd. between Goulden and Paul Avenues in the Bronx.

Please arrive with your luggage no later than 11:00 AM.  We expect to arrive in camp by 2:00 PM.  Please pack a lunch for the bus ride, as we won't be eating until dinner at 5:30.  If you haven’t already done so, please fill out the travel form (accessible through CampMinder), or call or email Mike Salop at mikecampkinderland@gmail.com to indicate whether or not you will need a seat on the bus.  If we do not have your name on a bus list, the bus will not wait.

If you are traveling to camp by car, plan to be there no later than 2:00 PM. Directions by car can be found below.

3 – Nightly camp-wide shut-down time.

In an effort to balance the needs of most staff members to spend significant down-time with one another at night, with the needs of the entire camp community to recharge with a reasonable amount of sleep, Camp Kinderland has a nightly shut-down time of 2:00 A.M.  We think that this time for closing down camp each night will best meet the needs of our camp community at large; it also ensures that there is a set time in camp when everything—canteen, rec hall, kitchen, campfires, vehicle use, etc.—is done for the night, and all facilities are cleared and closed. All camp staff members (program staff, kitchen staff, etc.) will be expected to wrap up any activities they are engaged in, close up all facilities and ‘head home’ for the night by the 2:00 shut down time. Of course, many people choose to go to bed earlier than this, and night-time has to be generally quiet in camp so that campers are not disturbed.  So, as always, it will remain important for everyone to be aware and respectful of one another.

4 - Staff Drug and Alcohol Policy: If you haven’t already, please read, and fill out the digital signature on the Staff Drug and Alcohol policy form, accessible through CampMinder.

5 - DIRECTIONS to CAMP KINDERLAND

Directions to Bus location:

By Car: From Manhattan, Queens,  Bklyn.- any bridge to the West Bronx.  Take Major Deegan Expressway (I-87) to Van Cortlandt Park South exit. Begin following signs to Herbert Lehman College.  Left turn at traffic light. Continue up hill along Van Cortlandt Ave. West.  At top of hill, turn right onto Goulden Ave.  (Keep following Lehman College signs.)  Go two blocks south to Bedford Park. Blvd. between Goulden and Paul Avenues.

From Queens/Long Island - Whitestone or Throgs Neck Bridge onto Cross Bronx Expressway (I-95) to the Bronx River Pkway North.  Exit at Pelham Pkwy Westbound, through Park to Southern Blvd.  Turn right.  At Bedford Park Blvd. turn left about ten blocks to Paul Avenue.

By Train: Lexington Ave. IRT #4 (Woodlawn-Jerome Line) to Bedford Park Blvd. (200th Street).  Walk two blocks west to Paul Ave.

                                                OR

"D" Train to Bedford Park Blvd. Stay in last car (rear exit) and walk two blocks west to Paul Ave.

Car Directions From New York To Camp Kinderland  

     Interstate 684 North into Route 84 (towards Danbury).  Follow 84 to Exit 20 (Waterbury/left-hand exit.)  Take Route 8 North.  (Route 8 as an expressway ends at Winsted, CT., but it continues as a highway.)  At end of expressway Route 8 turn right and continue on Route 8 North approximately 15 miles until intersection with Mass. Route 57 at New Boston (Sandisfield).  Take right turn up steep hill onto route 57; continue 4 miles to Colebrook River road (marked by Marie Whitney's Antiques, Twin Brook Campground sign, small Camp Kinderland sign). Turn right onto Colebrook River Road for exactly 3 miles to Kinderland sign on left.  Turn left onto camp road.

     You may also take the Hutchinson River Parkway to the Merrit Parkway to Exit 52-Route 8 North.  Follow directions above from Route 8.

Car Directions from Massachusetts Area

     I-91 through Springfield to Exit #3 (to Agawam).  Across Connecticut River pick up Route 57.  Follow signs for 57 through Agawam, Southwick, Granville, to Tolland.  Just after Tolland General Store, which is on the right-hand side of the road, look for Colebrook River Road on left. Colebrook is marked by signs for Marie Whitney's Antiques, Twin Brook Campground.  Turn left onto Colebrook River Road, stay on exactly 3 miles to Kinderland sign.