Summer Camps Affected by Economy, Crude Oil Prices
credit: independentman
For many children, the year’s memories are highlighted by the weeks spent at summer camp: splashing in a pool, riding horses, eating with hundreds of their friends. Unfortunately for many of these children, summer camps around the nation are changing, responding to a slowing economy and rising fuel prices.
With gas at about $4/gallon, many camps will not be offering water skiing this year, will cut down on camp outings, and will exchange their gas-hungry, on-campus vehicles for electric golf carts. To combat rising food costs, the camps will also begin purchasing food and supplies in bulk, often joining forces with other nearby camps to increase buying power. In addition, camps will look at their budgets and expenditures to find creative ways to reduce spending, while still providing children with an enjoyable experience.
The good news is that, despite a depressed economy, summer camp enrollment has not gone down. This is likely because enrollment costs were set last fall, when many American households had not yet been hit. Some families have elected to send their children for shorter periods of time, however, and many are taking advantage of “camperships,” or scholarships for campers.
Times are tougher than they used to be, and budgets — both personal and commercial — are being adjusted. It seems, however, that for many children, tough times have not led to less fun, just a different kind, focused more on physical activity that those propelled by expensive fuel.
Tags: Budgets & Money Management | children | economoy | summer camp
This entry was posted on Thursday, June 19th, 2008 at 3:30 am and is filed under Kids and Family. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
