YMCA of the Pines — Local services in Medford Township

There were a number of small issues that I will not elaborate on as they are not safety items but definitely added to an unpleasant experience.

They were made to use plates that still had significant amounts of food stuck on them from prior meals. They were so dirty on one occasion my oldest son just took a handful of food and did not use a plate at all.

They both reported cockroaches in the cabin and getting into their stuff.

Sexual abuse of others was witnessed on multiple occasions. It was reported and nothing was done.

A child had a fire starter in the cabin and repeatedly tried to start a fire in his bunk. The counselor wanted to take it away when he was over ruled by higher ranking staff. My son was fearful there would be a fire in the cabin the entire stay.

Multiple occasions they both witnessed bullying, they reported it and nothing was done. These incidents were largely a larger kid through balls at smaller and younger kids heads intentionally and the child crying. Neither one of my children were abused in this way but were rather upset to witness it on a daily basis. My one son was made to feel like he was in trouble when he reported the incident and missed his next activity. After that he said he stopped reporting it and tried to support the kid that was being harassed. He didn't want to get in trouble for reporting it.

My son had items stollen, he reported it and asked for help in getting them back he was told no. The other kid told him he had to fight him to get his things back.

One son developed diarrhea while at camp and asked to use the bathroom as it was urgent and nearly went in his pants. He was told they did not have enough staff to accommodate this.

They were fed chicken that was still frozen in the center. My guess is this is how my son ended up with diarrhea though I can't prove it. The food certainly was not cooked to the recommended 165F.

On the final day my oldest son got nothing to drink with his meal as they ran out so he was extremely thirsty upon my arrival and dehydrated. My younger son did not get a full meal on one occasion because they allowed everyone to get as much as they wanted without making sure everyone had been served. So in that case some children took 5 sandwiches while he got none.

I spoke to another parent who also was unhappy and she reported that she had spoken to one of the counselors who said there were a lot of issues this week and they were extremely understaffed. In cases where they should have had two counselors to a group of kids they instead had one.

My family will not attend this camp again but want to share this information so that changes can be made for future kids so they have a safer time. We have attended other camps and the difference was...

My daughter and I had a great time at the mother/child camp event. The cost was reasonable. The food was good and the menu was child-friendly. Our cabin was centrally located and we were next to children in the same age group as my daughter which made it easy to make friends. The activities were a lot of fun and there was a good variety. My daughter said it was amazing and has already asked if we can do it again next year. I hope they have some new activities to add to the list for next time! We loved all the outdoor time we got. The event was well-managed and we didn't have many questions, but when we did, staff was always nearby to help. Everyone (staff and guests alike) was so friendly. It was a great introduction to camping for both my daughter and me. If I had to give constructive feedback, it would be that some of the activities (specifically zip line and giant swing) took a lot of set up (for safety reasons) for each person to go which made for long wait times. We ended up having to skip them so we didn't miss the others. Also, we wished there were more arts and crafts supplies available. The DeMartini center only had a few boxes with some supplies, but no glue or scissors to make anything. Crayons, markers, paper, and coloring books would have been nice as well as these were only out during the tie dye and bracelet making activities. Overall, we had a great time and have already recommended it to many of our friends. We will definitely...

To start off, everyday u have to wake up at 7:00am to eat some disgusting breakfast inthen your out all day in the steaming hot weather and u barely get to go in your cabin. Also the lake is disgusting and a lot of people go to the bathroom there. Also, this camp is like a PRISON the counselors follow you EVERYWHERE and u have to do all the activities because u have to stay “committed”. Another thing about this camp is that the water is disgusting and dirty. It smells like the lake and probably comes from there too. The water you will have to drink will come from the sink and bathroom. Furthermore, the counselors have favorites and they DO NOT let you go home. This person asked a lot of times to go home and call their parents and the counselors said “no” this one person who the counselor favored and felt bad for asked to call home once, and they let her smh. This camp experience was horrible and if u end up going to this camp bring as much water from home and as much snacks from home as u can because I guarantee u, u won’t want the water from the camp because it’s disgus and u can only get snacks from the camp twice a week. I recommend a different camp that’s not weird and like a prison. Also, the showers and bathrooms are disgusting and the only fun activitiy is boating it’s...