FAQs

As a branch of the Young Men’s Christian Association, Camp Cheerio is committed to helping our campers grow morally and spiritually. Each day begins with a brief spiritual thought during Morning Watch. Our Vespers services are presented each evening by our older campers around a campfire, and then each cabin holds its own private devotions in the cabin, prior to lights out.

Grace is sung prior to each meal.

Camp Cheerio is, by its very nature, a Christian oriented camp, however, we endeavor to attract a true cross section of life to camp - everyone is welcome without regard to race, color, sex, religion, or national origin. Our religious emphasis revolves mostly around instilling values (such as respect, responsibility, citizenship, honesty, caring, and faith) and character development, which are enhanced by appropriate passages in the Bible.

Camp Cheerio attracts campers from all over the world. Most however, come from North Carolina and surrounding states. The wide diversity of campers and staff creates an environment in which campers can make friends and learn about people from all parts of the country and world.

Any healthy boy or girl entering 2nd-10th grade. If attending Cheerio on the New River, the camper must be entering 4th-10th grade. In some cases, children with special medical needs, such as asthma or diabetes may attend camp. If your child has a special medical need, please call the camp office at 336-869-0195 to check if they are eligable.

Camp Cheerio provides two to three on site nurses during each camp session. In most sessions of camp, an onsite doctor is at camp as well. If a doctor is not at camp, medical care is provided through a local family practice. Any medication brought to camp must be checked in on the first day of camp. Nurses will distribute medication at prescribed times throughout the camp session.

Although direct contact with campers at Cheerio isn’t possible, there are several ways you can keep up with all the fun happening at camp.

Your CampInTouch account can be used to send a direct email to your camper. Emails to campers are printed out each day and distributed at rest period. The email system is one-way and does not allow campers the chance to send email back. News and photos are updated daily and can be accessed through the front page of our website. Our camp photographer works very hard to get photos of as many different campers as possible, but we cannot guarantee that all campers will be pictured online everyday.

Phone calls: We do not allow campers to use phones at camp, but you are more than welcome to call the office (336-363-2604) anytime during their stay to check on them. Because our counselors stay busy teaching activities during the day it may take a little while to track down information on a specific camper. We will do our best to get you an update as quickly as possible.

Facebook and Instagram: Here you will find highlights of each day, as well as updates on special things happening at camp. Be sure to LIKE our pages to keep up with Cheerio year around!

Parents make the biggest difference when it comes to preparing a child for a session of camp! We have found the best way to prevent a child from becoming homesick is to have an open dialogue with your child before he or she comes to camp. Campers who want and look forward to the fun of camp will enjoy and benefit the most from the experience. Readiness may also depend on the individual maturity and attitude of the child. For more tips about homesickness, visit the 1st Time Parents section in the website.

Cabin assignments are based on grade and age level; this way, only children of a similar age group are housed together. Camp Cheerio does not designate a particular cabin for a specific age group; instead, cabin assignments are made based on the entire population of camp once a session is fully booked. In other words, based on enrollment for a particular session, we could have one, two, or even three cabins that housed a particular age group. There is a major advantage to booking cabins this way: As a parent, you would not like your child excluded from a session because there was no more room in “the 12-year-old cabin,” even though there may be empty beds elsewhere in camp!

All campers in Traditional Camp are housed in modern cabins. Each cabin accommodates between 10 and 16 campers (depending on age; see related paragraph below) and two counselors. Adequate toilet, shower, and sink facilities are provided in each cabin, so there’s no need to trot out to the “bath house” in time of need. Beds are bunk-style, with railings on the top bunks; you’ll want to bring linens for a single bed. Most cabins are built duplex style - that is to say, two cabins are located under a common roof, with a front porch situated between the two cabins. This cabin would be considered the “brother or sister” cabin or “porchmate”.

Younger children need more attention and help when compared to older campers, so cabin size depends greatly on the age of the campers. In a typical 7, 8, or 9 year old cabin, there are 9 or 10 campers with two counselors (sometimes a counselor-in-training as well); in a typical 14 or 15 year old cabin, there are 15 or 16 campers with two counselors (and perhaps a C.I.T.). All of our camper-to-counselor ratios meet or exceed standards set by the American Camping Association.

Yes! Special requests for roommates can be made according to the following policy:

Camp can honor ONE mutual cabinmate request per camper. Cabinmates must be of the same grade and age. Not all requests can be honored, as we work to create a diverse cabin group. The number of campers assigned to the same cabin from the same town or friendship group is intentionally limited to encourage new friendships and discourage cliques. The parents of the child you request MUST list your child’s name as his/her cabinmate request (mutual request) and requests must be made in writing by May 1 of the current camping year. This request is done in your CampInTouch account.

All children can benefit from a camping experience. Besides learning new skills which are common to a typical resident camp (such as canoeing, riflery, and horseback riding), campers learn valuable life skills as well. Self-confidence, responsibility, sharing, citizenship, self-esteem, and goal-setting are just a few of the qualities we seek to instill and nurture in each camper.

With the large number of resident camps operating today, the obvious question exists. . . What makes Cheerio so special? We at Cheerio truly believe there is no other camp which offers such a comprehensive, yet well-balanced camping program. There is something at Cheerio for everyone to participate in, yet all activities are presented in an atmosphere stressing the importance of having a healthy spirit, mind, and body. Every aspect of Cheerio, whether it be program development, spiritual emphasis, camper safety, food service, or any other camp facet, is implemented with one sole purpose: to positively develop your child(ren).

Children sometimes imagine camp as a place where they can do whatever they want, whenever they want. Camp, they must realize, is a lot like living at home. There’s lots of fun things to do (but only within certain parameters), and along with the fun comes some responsibilities (like cabin clean-up, taking turns, sharing, etc). Parents can help by discussing the new experiences that camp will involve: sleeping and eating with other kids, being in unfamiliar surroundings, and the need for give and take.

Our counselors do a lot to prevent homesickness too! Homesickness usually occurs because a child feels uncomfortable in new surroundings with lots of new faces. This is certainly understandable, and our counselors do a great job of welcoming the campers by getting to know them, their interests, and goals for the camp session. We make them feel at home by giving them a camp tour upon arrival, and allow the children to sign up for their favorite camp activities. Parents will even fill out a confidential form about their children, so the counselors can be alerted to anything that should merit special attention (such as a recent divorce, death in the family, or other unusual circumstances).

If your child says he doesn’t want to go to camp, he’s trying to tell you something…… Listen to your child carefully, then ask open-ended questions to clarify your understanding. Try not to interject any of your thoughts into his answers; let him explain things in his own terms. Avoid asking questions that can be answered with a “yes” or “no”. Some good questions to ask might be: What would be different about living at camp than living at home? What would you miss most if you went to camp? What goals might you set for yourself at camp? Who might help you accomplish them? What new things could you learn at camp that you couldn’t learn at home? How would you make friends in a new environment?

Parents should ask themselves similar questions. How does your child respond to change? Has he spent the night away from home before (not counting grandparents or other close relatives)? How did he fare? Are YOU ready to part from HIM? Believe it or not, we routinely treat parents who are “child-sick” (missing their children) almost as much as we work with kids who are having difficulty adjusting to camp! As a parent, you obviously know your child best. Don’t disregard your child’s opinion about camp. Take everything into consideration when deciding about your child’s summer-your wishes for him to learn self-confidence, new skills and independence as well as his wishes to maintain the status quo.

Bedwetting is one of the most potentially embarrassing things that can happen to someone at camp, so it is paramount that parents let us know if the condition exists. Once informed, counselors are careful to use discretion where warranted. The counselor will find some quiet time to speak with the bedwetter in private, to let him know he is aware of the condition and how they will treat it if it occurs. Generally, the child and counselor work out a “secret” signal for the morning to let the counselor know if bedwetting occurred during the night. Then, after all the other kids have trooped off to flag raising, one counselor will remain behind to remove the soiled linen and arrange to have it washed at the staff cabin. The linens are returned before the morning acitivities are over, so no one is the wiser! Of course, we also use as many preventive measures as possible - reduce liquid intake close to bedtime, and remind the child to use the bathroom before going to bed.

We encourage you to send letters and cards to your campers. Nothing beats a hand-written letter arriving via mail. Unfortunately, our package delivery at Cheerio is very limited due to postal delivery dates provided. USPS delivers every day, but UPS only delivers Mondays, Wednesday, and Thursday. Envelopes being sent to camp must arrive by Thursday of your camper’s session.

We only accept 11 x 14 sized envelopes or letters and cards. We do not accept packages larger than this required size. Any package that exceeds the required 11 x 14 envelope size will not be delivered to the camper. It will be held until the end of the session for the parent to pick up in the gym. All packages MUST be mailed to camp; they CANNOT be dropped off on opening day.

When possible, letters and packages are given out after lunch during rest period. However, on days the mail is delivered to camp later, they are given out at the earliest opportunity, usually the following mealtime.

Please do not include food or drinks in any packages. Campers are provided plenty of both throughout the day of camp.

Please address letters and envelopes to:

Camper’s Name Camper’s Cabin 1430 Camp Cheerio Rd Glade Valley, NC 28627