Drop Off & Pickup for Parents

FOR CAMP OAKES

The drop off and pick up location for Camp Oakes is: Lake Center, 3730 Susan Street, Santa Ana, CA 92704

Drop Off Procedure

The most important part of the drop off day procedure is to be sure you have all your camper(s) forms and payments submitted through the Active.com registration system by the deadline of July 1st.

Sending your child off to Camp on that first Saturday is a chaotic experience at best. In order to alleviate some of the chaos, we have created the following procedure to establish a sense of order on departure day. Patience is vital to this process and you can expect the following:

Please arrive at 8:00-9:00 AM on the day of departure (No early arrivals, please).
Upon arrival please park in the designated area, keeping other areas open for buses, people and the check-in process.
Health Screening – Each camper will be given a health screening where the staff will be asking questions and be checking for observable signs of illness and injury. Your child will also be checked for head lice. In the event that your child does have head lice, your child will not be able to attend camp until treated and cleared by a health care professional. Once treated and cleared you will be able to drop your child off at the camp location in Big Bear and the child will be able to participate in the remaining camp program. All costs associated with treatment and transportation to camp are the responsibility of the camper’s family. After you have been cleared, proceed to the next station.
Proceed to the check-in area with your child and all of their belongings including luggage, medications and their sack lunch.
Place all luggage in the designated luggage drop off area. Your child will need to keep their sack lunch with them on the bus.
Once it is your turn for check-in, the staff will confirm that all paperwork and payments have been completed. You will be told which cabin group your child is in and where to find that group.
Next, turn in all medication and complete the medication form which must be done for all current medications.
Drop off your care package at the care package drop off table. (See the “MAIL” section of this guide). Depending on size it will cost either $15 or $20.
Take your child to his/her cabin group where you will meet the counselor and other cabin mates.
Take this opportunity to discretely discuss any special care issues that you feel are important to your child’s experience and may help your child’s counselor.
Say your goodbyes and wish your camper well. This allows the counselor the chance to begin the first group-building exercises and allows all of the campers to start getting to know each other.
Now it is time for parents to leave and start your own week of events while your child is at camp having the best time EVER.
See you next Saturday!

Pick Up Procedure

Return-From-Camp-Day is as hectic as Departure-to-Camp-Day.

The buses will depart from Camp somewhere between 11:30 and 1:00 PM. This means that your child’s bus will return from camp between 2:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. (We cannot control traffic, so there may be delays) You will be sent an email when the last bus leaves camp with an estimated arrival time. If you still are uncertain then we ask that you call Camp4Kids after 1:00 PM to get an estimated time of arrival. You may also want to check our Facebook page which will be updated with estimated arrival times.

Once the Directors arrive, an area will be cordoned off with cones. Please vacate this area so that the checkout process can go smoothly.

It is imperative that you remain patient during the checkout process. Once the buses arrive, the luggage will be off-loaded. At the same time, Cabin groups will be dismissed from the buses and will head to a designated area. Once you see your child’s Leader, move to a position near him or her. Before you take your child home you MUST FIRST check out your child with the counselor. The Counselor will ask you to sign for your child and may ask for picture identification before you take your child. Once you have picked up your child’s belongings, luggage, medications and you have checked-out you may leave!

Once again, you must:

Check your email and our Facebook page for details or call Camp4Kids to check on the anticipated return time after 1:00 PM.
When you do arrive, please do not block parking lot or bus parking area.
Look for your child’s counselor and check your camper out.
Collect all of your child’s belongings, luggage and medication. Please make sure to double check that the property is yours.
Please take time to listen to your child, as they will want to talk with you about camp and all the fun they had. Please hear them out.
See you Next Year!!!

Transportation Info & Bus Safety

The camp day begins as soon as a camper gets on the bus in the morning. Bus spirit is promoted by the Counselors, who leads the group in making up songs, and skits they can perform for all our enjoyment at Campfire. Each camper is picked up and dropped off at the address given on our website.

We take the safe transportation of our campers very seriously.

Importance of the Bus

If a camper come late to camp or is to be picked up early, we ask that parents set their schedules so that the camper's time at camp is disrupted as little as possible. We ask that parents bring a camper to camp during the first day (between 11:30-12:30pm) so he or she can easily join his or her camper group. We also ask parents whose campers must leave early to pick their camper (between 11:30-12:30pm at the latest).

General Bus Rules

Sit facing the front of the bus with your feet on the ground.
Wear a seat belt at all times if available.
Keep your hands to yourself and be respectful to others.
Use considerate language.
Be an enthusiastic and active participant.
Use low voices in the bus.
Follow the staff’s instructions.
No eating/drinking on the bus unless told otherwise.
Sharp objects, are not appropriate to have out on the bus.
Music devices are not allowed at camp nor on the bus.
Children will board the bus with their Counselor and CIT only! Children will not to be left alone on the bus for any reason including with only 1 staff member.
The camper to counselor/CIT ratios is to be 1 staff member to every 5-7 children.
Leaders will put their children on the bus, loading from back to front. Leaders are to sit with their group.
All passengers are to remain seated at all times. Seats may be changed only when the bus is stopped and the bus brake is set.
No one is allowed to open a window and put any part of their body parts outside. Hands, head, legs, etc.
If there is an emergency, all children and staff are to remain seated and calm, and wait for the bus driver to give directions.
If the bus driver is unable to give directions, the Directing Staff or lead counselor with take charge and will supervise the campers.
A Leader will sit near the emergency exits. These will not to be used for daily loading and unloading of passengers.
While riding on the bus, the bus driver is in charge. Please follow all their instructions, rules, and procedures always.
A member of Camp4Kids staff on the buses will transport all camper health histories, health exam forms, and permission-to-treat forms. In case of a breakdown, or illness, the person in charge of the health histories, health exam forms, and permission-to-treat will take the necessary steps to insure the safety of the camper/staff member always comes first. He/she will immediately contact the Camp or Program Director once the situation has been handled. The well-being and safety of children is at all-time our first obligation. The Camp Director (in case he is driving someone to the hospital) or the designated person in charge of the bus, will first make sure that injured person (s) has secured an area for care, and that the uninjured are being supervising at all times.
Each vehicle transporting campers will have a staff member who is trained in CPR and First Aid, who is over the age of 21, and who can, in an emergency, provide care for the injured. He /she will immediately contact the local authority by call 911, and will report any accident or emergency incurred. The leader staff member on the bus will identify possible witnesses and will work to obtain the appropriate accident or emergency information if required.
No vehicle is to be loaded beyond the established guideline set forth by manufacturer.
After loading buses at the pickup/drop of point on the first day of Camp, the Camp Director will go over the rules and regulations which will cover such topics like emergency evacuation procedures, remaining seated at all times, noise, clean-up procedures, luggage removal, etc.
Failure to follow the bus rules could result in the camper losing the privilege to ride the bus as determined by their Counselor. Our staff are trained in dealing with managing behavior issues, but we also must think about the group as a whole. If you child has some type of behavior issue we should know about, it MUST be told to us when you children is signed up, and ALSO in person before your child boards the bus. If we determine that we are incapable of handling the given problem, we will tell you upfront and refund your money to you before camp starts.
The bus will never be loaded in excess of its capacity.
Camp4Kids does not provide booster seats since none of its children are below the age of 8 years old.
Camp4Kids does not have the specialized staff nor are we set up to handle children's of special needs at this time for our summer camp program at either Camp Oakes or Camp Ronald McDonald.

All campers should arrive at no later than 9:00 AM but no earlier than 8:00 AM.

We expect to return between 2:00PM-3:00PM, however, because it is difficult to accurately predict what time we will arrive we recommend all parents call the Camp4Kids hotline at (714) 474-9774 after 1:00PM the day we return for an updated estimated time of arrival.

You also will receive an email from us when the last bus leaves Camp with an estimated time of arrival.

Authorized Release of a Camper

Camp4Kids will only release a camper to their parents/guardians or an emergency contact as listed on the Camper Application. Camp4Kids will only release a camper to an emergency contact if pre-approved by the parent or in an emergency where Camp4Kids is unable to get in contact will any of the parents/guardians. Additional individuals (nannies, car pool parents, family members, etc.) can be given permission to pick up a camper from camp or the drop off point only by specifying written confirmation by the Parent given to the Camp or Program Director.

Missing the Morning Bus the Day of Camp

The Bus will not wait for your children after the official bus time to leave (10:00AM). If you miss the bus we will give you directions to Camp, but it is your responsibility to deliver your child to us if you fail for any reason to miss the Bus.

Late Pickup

Parents who are unable to pick up their camper by the time the bus arrives (starting at 4:00PM to give you extra time) will be charged a late fee of $2.00/minute for every minute thereafter. By sending your children to camp you agree to these terms and conditions and agree we may charge your Credit Card immediately thereafter for all cost incurred. There is almost nothing worth than to have a child coming home all excited, waiting to tell you all about their week in camp, to find that they parents aren’t there to greet them.