Frequently Asked Questions
about Wellspring Vancouver
We know that you have many questions about what to expect at Wellspring Vancouver. Some of the questions we’re asked most frequently are answered below. For more general questions regarding Wellspring Camps, please click here.
- When and how often will my child be calling home?
- Will campers have access to computers – can they bring their iphone/itouch/laptop?
- Can I visit my child while at Wellspring Vancouver?
- How do you decide roommates? What happens if a camper doesn’t like his or her roommate?
- What happens if a camper gets sick? What medical facilities are there available?
- How do you deal with homesickness?
- How do you screen and select your staff?
- Are prices on your website and in your brochure listed in American or Canadian currency?
- When and how often will my child be calling home?
Initially campers have one phone call home a week and you are informed of when they will be calling by email at least six days in advance so you can be sure to be home. Once the campers are settled in, phone calls become more frequent and for a longer duration. Campers can also earn extra phone call time as part of the camp rewards structure.
Campers also have email time each week and are encouraged to send letters and postcards home.
You can also send you child emails which they are then delivered by camp staff. And receiving mail and care packages (please no food!) is a big part of daily life at camp. You will receive information about where to send mail before your child leaves for camp.
- Will campers have access to computers – can they bring their iphone/itouch/laptop?
Campers will have access to their personal email accounts once a week initially and then, like phone calls, email time is linked to our rewards program.
Campers can bring their own cell phones to make their calls and even do their emails, but we do not have wi-fi on the Quest Campus. We do not recommend you bring a laptop or any other electrical item of value. Things often get lost and broken at camp and we prefer that you don’t take the risk with such valuable items.
- Can I visit my child while at Wellspring Vancouver?
Yes! And in fact, family involvement is strongly encouraged. Visiting weekends for Wellspring Vancouver occur on the Family Workshop weekends only; dates are provided in the enrolment packet. It is highly recommended that you attend a Family Workshop so that you can learn how best to support your camper once he or she returns home. There are time slots provided during all of these Workshops to visit with your camper. Once you have attended one of our Family Workshops, you may use a subsequent workshop weekend solely for visitation with your camper if you’d like. Your camper may leave campus with you during these visitation hours. Your camper may also go to your hotel with you in the evenings during Family Workshop weekends if you’d like.
How do you decide roommates? What happens if a camper doesn’t like his or her roommate?
Campers are roomed with one other camper of the same sex, similar age and similar length of stay. We carefully read the information you provide and the answers your child gives to the camper questionnaire in the enrolment packet and match up campers of similar interests and background.
Campers spend very little time in their rooms and very rarely do we have conflicts with roommates; when we do, we work to resolve them immediately. More often, camp roommates form a close friendship that lasts long after camp has finished.
What happens if a camper gets sick? What medical facilities are there available?
All staff are trained in basic First Aid and CPR with either the American or Canadian Red Cross; senior staff have extensive First Aid training. We also have a full-time camp nurse. In addition, the campus staff at Quest are trained to deal with emergency First Aid and we have access to the local hospital and emergency response units.
Camp staff deal with all minor First Aid issues. For anything more serious, campers are taken to the local clinic in Squamish.
How do you deal with homesickness?
Homesickness is inevitable at some point at camp and may last 5 minutes or 5 days. It affects old and young alike. We find that keeping the campers happy and busy is the best cure for homesickness and we also ask that parents maintain an upbeat and positive attitude when talking with their children. Whilst no doubt you are missing them greatly, focussing on the positive aspects of them being at camp – making friends, having fun, becoming more healthy – helps greatly in enabling your child to readjust to camp life. The ironic thing is that campers are always camp-sick when they return home!
How do you screen and select your staff?
We take a great deal of care when selecting and interviewing our camp staff. All our staff are over 21 years of age and the majority have expertise in nutrition, fitness and health. We always take extensive references from former employers and also screen our staff for criminal activity. We also require our staff to have clean driving records and further test them ourselves. All staff complete our mandatory staff training and we do not hesitate to dismiss a member of staff who does not meet our high standards. Our staff are role models to the campers and many return year after year for one of the most rewarding jobs in the world.
What if my child does not want to participate in an activity?
At Wellspring we never ask a camper to do an activity that has not already been done on many occasions by our own staff. Our staff fully participate in everything from basketball to rock climbing and we always adhere to the strictest safety codes. If a camper is scared to try something new, like canoeing or surfing, then we will provide extra support and enable them to participate as much as they can. We rarely have campers refusing to participate because they simply don’t want to. We make sure that we make the activities as fun as possible and work with the campers to ensure that we do more of the activities they like. However, you can’t always please everyone and if a camper simply doesn’t like baseball then we remind them of why they came to camp and what they hope to achieve and make sure they enjoy doing the activity that comes next!
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Are prices on your website and in your brochure listed in American or Canadian currency?
All prices are listed in US Dollars (USD). Prices in Canadian Dollars will be determined by the exchange rate on the date of application.
