Summer Camps Offer Many Health Benefits
Camp Exclamation Point! is a local nonprofit camp designed for kids in underserved communities. In this article, we explore how a great summer camp experience can have a lasting impact on children's health.
With outdoor activities like swimming and canoeing, summer camps help improve kids’ physical health. Even more beneficial is the mental health boost kids receive from spending time at summer camp. Not only is it fun, camp provides a needed break from the stress and anxiety that kids may be dealing with.
Many summer camps don’t allow phones and other electronics, which gives campers a “digital detox” and temporarily relieves them from the pressures of social media. Instead of doomscrolling, kids make in-person connections with other campers and staff. They grow their social skills and learn how to support each other, often forming lasting friendships.
“It gets them away from electronics, gives them a chance to interact with people,” says Scott Moore, managing director of Camp Exclamation Point (CAMP!), a weeklong residential program held each August in Thetford. “They build their social interactions because they're not glued to a phone, glued to a TV.”
Rather than looking at screens, kids attending CAMP! spend the week collaborating and working on things together, he says. “That gives them a chance to have better mental health because they are, sometimes for the first time, experiencing connections. Real human connection.”
Giving Kids Opportunities
CAMP! is different than other summer camps, Moore says, in that it seeks out kids who otherwise couldn’t afford to go to a summer camp. “We try to find the kids who've had economic obstacles in their life. Kids who are in foster care, kids who may have been homeless.”
The nonprofit summer camp is funded by grants and donations from individuals and organizations, including Blue Cross Vermont. Campers are only asked to pay a $30 registration fee. Scholarships are available for those who have difficulty paying the fee.
More than 100 kids in grades three through eight participate in the camp, held at a facility on the shore of 50-acre Lake Abenaki. Along with a daily swimming lesson, kids choose from a wide range of workshops to attend each day. They include nature, art, and music topics — activities the kids may not otherwise get an opportunity to experience. There’s also a boating program that teaches kids how to safely paddle a canoe and a literacy program that provides each camper with several books they can take home.
Most of the 85 staff members are volunteers. They give up a week of vacation time from their jobs, Moore says, to teach what they’re passionate about. “A lot of the program is really built upon what the counselors are interested in teaching.” For example, a volunteer who’s into arts and crafts may teach the kids origami or how to make friendship bracelets.
“You can really see the staff buying into the program. You can see that staff excitement about the program,” Moore says. For more about life at CAMP!, watch this short video.
Lasting Health Benefits
CAMP! only lasts a week, but the health benefits it provides extend well beyond.
Counselors encourage the kids to try new things and provide plenty of support and encouragement, Moore says. “We're going to give you that kindness, respect, and really care,” he says. “You have people there believing in you, encouraging you, cheering you on.” That gives kids a sense of belonging and the belief they can be successful in life.
CAMP! also teaches kids there are a lot of fun activities to do that don’t involve looking at screens. “You can show them the physicality of what is fun and interesting in the ability to get outside,” Moore says.
When they return home, Moore thinks the kids retain and use some of the skills they gained while at summer camp. For example, he tells the story of a camper who learned to swim at CAMP! and later used that ability to save a friend who fell into a flooded river.
Support CAMP! by Taking Our Summer Virtual Challenge
You can support Camp Exclamation Point by participating in our Summer Virtual Challenge, which runs from July 1 to August 16, 2025. Get outside this summer and post photos of your adventures! For every post that we’re tagged in (bluecrossvt) on Facebook or Instagram, we’ll donate $5 to CAMP! Don’t have social media? You can also participate by sending your photos in an email to events@bcbsvt.com.
