Camper Fees
The fee for Camp Ten Oaks is $2,200 per camper.
Ten Oaks is committed to ensuring that all children and youth can attend our summer camp programs. No camper will be turned away due to lack of funds. We know that every family’s budget is different, and so we offer four tiers of fees for Camp Ten Oaks to help cover the costs of those who need financial support. To help us make Camp Ten Oaks accessible to more campers, please select the tier that best reflects your family’s budget when you register your child for camp.
- Tier 1: $2,350 (full camper fee + tax-deductible donation of $150 to help us offer subsidies to other campers)
- Tier 2: $2,200 (full camper fee)
- Tier 3: $1,700
- Tier 4: $1,325
- Tier 5: $925
Included in all above rates:
- All Meals & Snacks
- All Program Supplies
- Onsite health team
- Camp photos & videos to download after camp
- A Camp T-Shirt
- Summer Staffing Costs and Salaries
- Year-Round Administrative Staff Labor (it takes several months of hard work to make camp possible)
- Bus Transportation to camp and from camp
- Access to Gender Affirming Gear if interested
- So much more!
Payment Methods
We also offer families flexible payment arrangements, including monthly installment payments.
A deposit of 10% of the amount agreed upon must be paid within 30 days of completing registration or confirmation of your subsidy to confirm a place at camp for the current summer.
Camp fees must be paid in full OR post-dated cheques for the full fee must be sent to us by the first day of camp. Post-dated cheques must be dated no later than December 31. Camp fees must be paid in full (matching the amount agreed upon by the family and Ten Oaks) by December 31 in order for a family to retain their spot(s) at camp next summer.
Once we’ve confirmed your fee/subsidy amount, you can pay online with a credit card or send us payment directly. Please make all cheques payable to the Ten Oaks Project. Any payments returned due to insufficient funds are subject to a $30 administration fee.
Fee Subsidy is Available
Subsidies are determined using a sliding scale fee that is based upon your needs, financial capabilities and an agreement that is acceptable to both you and Ten Oaks. We consider special circumstances when providing assistance. Because the dollars available to provide financial assistance are limited, we will determine eligibility and percentage of financial assistance on an individual family basis. We have dedicated subsidy funding for Black, Indigenous and other campers of colour, so please self-identify as appropriate.
To apply for a subsidy, select the “Apply for Subsidy” option on our registration form under the “Fee Tier” drop down menu, and fill out the questions for the “Subsidy Application” portion of the form.
Vaccination Policy
Ten Oaks values the health and safety of all staff, volunteers and program participants. Our primary consideration with this policy is to reduce the risk of contracting COVID-19 while working for, volunteering for or attending a program run by Ten Oaks.
In the face of evidence demonstrating that the COVID-19 vaccination is an effective measure in reducing the risk of transmitting the virus, and in order to minimize risk to staff, volunteers, campers, and their families, Ten Oaks is requiring all staff, volunteers and participants in in-person programs to be up-to-date with COVID-19 vaccinations.
Inquiring minds may wonder…
Ten Oaks was co-founded by Holly and Julia Wagg in April of 2004. Holly and Julia noticed a huge gap in services for the children and youth of the 2SLGBTQ+ community (there was nothing in Ottawa at the time) and decided to take action.
Holly and Julia, along with their dog Gus, started a not-for-profit charitable organization, originally known as ‘The Ten Oaks Project,’ to develop programming for children and youth of 2SLGBTQ+ identities, families and communities. Camp Ten Oaks is one of the programs to grow out of this vision.
When conducting a community-wide survey between April and August of 2004 to see if there was a need for a camp program for the 2SLGBTQ+ community, the name Ten Oaks Project was whipped up: TEN (a number that plays with the idea that 1 in 10 people are 2SLGBTQ+)+ OAKS (a strong tree that hints at the idea of camp and outdoors) + PROJECT (so it made sense for the organization to run programming outside of camp).
Since camp is a program of Ten Oaks, we opted to call it Camp Ten Oaks.
Ten Oaks defines children and youth from 2SLGBTQ+ communities and families as individuals who identify as two spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and/or queer (2SLGBTQ+), have a(n) 2SLGBTQ+ parent and/or guardian, and/or who broadly speaking, are connected in some way to 2SLGBTQ+ communities (like having a sibling or relative that identifies as 2SLGBTQ+).
Camp Ten Oaks is the first summer overnight camp of its kind in Canada for the children and youth from 2SLGBTQ+ families and communities. There are also a few similar camps offered in the United States.
The majority of campers who come to Camp Ten Oaks live in Ontario. Our two main catchment areas are Ottawa and Toronto, but we’ve had campers (and volunteers!) come from across Canada to participate in our programs.
These are the names of the different cabin groups that we have at camp. When it comes to naming groups, sometimes it’s not all that easy!
The camp planning committee sat around for many meetings trying to decide what to call our different cabin groups. Until we could come up with something, we divided campers by “junior”, “middle”, “intermediate” and “senior”. And then at our first ever staff orientation, we began to refer to our campers as “acorns”. Combine all of that together, and, presto!
You get the JACs (junior acorn campers, ages 8-9), MACs (middle acorn campers, ages 10-11), IACs (intermediate acorn campers, ages 12-13), SACs (senior acorn campers, ages 14-15) and OT Program (oak tree roots and branches campers, ages 16-17).
At our overnight camp, campers will rest up in cabins for each of our age groups: JACs, MACs, IACs, SACs, and OTs. All campers sleep in age specific all-gender cabins.
Unit activities are activities scheduled to be done with a whole cabin group and choice activities are those that campers get to choose. When campers arrive for the week, they will be given an activity sheet and the opportunity to pick what they want to do.
Since programming is run by our staff, and the skill sets of our staff changes from year to year, we’re able to guarantee both old favourites and fresh programming each summer.
A campout is where all campers in a cabin group leave their comfy cabins and take a hike or a canoe ride to sleep overnight in a tent! We set up camp, cook dinner over a fire, sing songs and look at the stars. Campouts provide a real outdoor adventure experience.
Social justice promotes human equality by recognizing the underlying conditions in our everyday lives that foster inequalities, a lack of opportunity or discrimination. Our social justice program comprises a series of age-appropriate activities that allow campers to explore one or two key issues while at camp. In order to promote understanding and respect across different groups, we acknowledge the dynamics of power and privilege and the role these play in creating attitudes, behaviours and practices that support systems of exclusion and oppression.
If you want to find out more about camp, please feel free to contact us. We would be happy to speak with you to answer specific questions that you or your child may have, and to learn more about your child’s needs and desires for their summer experience.
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We are an organization built on the strength of our community and we would not exist without the valuable contributions of our volunteers, staff, directorate, sponsors, community partners, and donors.
