Camp Echo Payments and Policies

Option A (Summer 2020 Pricing) – Families selecting this option will be paying the same full program fee  for their programs as they would have paid in Summer 2020.

Option B (Partial Increase) – Families selecting this option will be helping Camp Echo cover the increased costs of operating camp for their camper.

Option C (Full Increase) – Families selecting this option will be covering the full cost increase of operating camp for their camper, including an investment in higher salaries for our seasonal staff.

Families will select their price option during the camper application process. The experience at camp will be the exact same for campers regardless of the pricing option that they select.

Camp Echo staff will follow-up with families to determine how we can make camp affordable on our sliding scale based on household finances and number of people in household. Any financial assistance from Summer 2020 will be honored for Summer 2021. The sliding scale will be based off Option A prices.

We provide an accessible experience to all who would like to enjoy Camp Echo by providing finical support through Community Partnerships / Outreach and Sliding–Scale Fee Assistance.  To apply for Fee Assistance, submit your most recent 1040 tax form. The level of assistance offered is based on your annual income and the number of people in your household. To qualify for sliding scale fee assistance the camper must be a member of the McGaw YMCA.

*Membership requirement is waived for families that qualify for families who qualify for benefits through the Illinois Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP). They receive assistance based on the non-member rates.

http://www.dhs.state.il.us/page.aspx?item=31071

We can provide families an “estimation of their camp fee” over the phone so that a general idea of the cost of camp is available. The level of assistance will be communicated officially via email of confirmation once the required documentation has been received. If the level of assistance is not enough and may prevent your camper from attending camp, please email the Echo staff at echoinfo@mcgawymca.org to provide additional information relating to your families situation.

Youth participants who are members of the Y receive a discount of $150 for one-week programs and $300 discounts for programs that are two weeks or longer. Membership must be active from the time of registration through summer programs to receive this discount and will be checked by Camp Echo staff. Any campers that received member pricing for Summer 2020 will automatically receive the member discount for Summer 2021.

Eligible memberships include youth, teen, or family memberships. Adult memberships do not qualify campers for discounted member pricing for camp. If you are interested in becoming a member, please contact the McGaw YMCA membership team at 847-475-7400 for more information. Additional information can also be found on the McGaw YMCA website.

A $100 refundable deposit is due at the time of registration for each enrolled program. For families applying for fee assistance, the deposit is $50. This deposit reserves a camper’s spot in their summer program.

Final payments for Summer 2021 programs are due May 14, 2021. Any payments that are not completed at that time will result in cancellations of unpaid programs. If your family needs a payment extension, please contact the Echo staff at echoinfo@mcgawymca.org.

When you register for camp, you will pay a refundable deposit, which is applied to the camp fee. At the time of registration, you may select Payment Plan (Monthly), Pay as You Go, or Pay in Full; however, if you register for a program on or after the payment due date, the full payment is due at the time of registration.

PAYMENT PLAN (MONTHLY)- With this plan, the balance due will be automatically drafted from your checking account or credit card (whichever method you use for your deposit) in equal payments.

• Monday, February 15
• Monday, March 15
• Thursday, April 15
• Friday, May 14

PAY AS YOU GO OPTION- If you select this option, you can log into your CampInTouch account to pay at your leisure. If you have not paid your balance by this time, the Camp Echo office will contact you before taking payment.

PAY IN FULL OPTION- If you select this option, full payment will be charged.

Please notify Camp Echo staff as soon as possible if you decide to cancel your camper’s enrollment in any session. You will be asked to complete a brief form to confirm your cancellation and indicate your preference for how we process any payments that have already been completed towards the cancelled program.

All program fees, including deposits, will be fully refundable for Summer 2021. Camp Echo recognizes the vast possible reasons for cancellations for Summer 2021, many of which are beyond the control of the campers and families who might have to cancel. Regardless of the reason, families will have the option of a full refund and asked to consider keeping payments as a credit for future Camp Echo programs or donating payments to support Camp Echo operations.

Please note: Donations are not refundable.

New for 2021: there is no wait list deposit. If a camper withdraws from a program we contact the first person on the waitlist. Please notify the Camp Echo Office when you are no longer interested in having your child attend that session.

If a camper withdraws from a program we contact the first person on the waitlist.

If we contact you about an opening, you will typically have 24 hours to confirm if you would like to accept the spot. If we don’t hear back after 24 hours, we move on to the next camper on the waitlist.

Due to COVID practices (such as quarantining and testing), we will not contact families on the wait list if it is within two weeks before the start of the session.

Campers cannot attend camp unless all camp forms with required signatures are submitted. All forms are due five weeks prior to the start of your child’s session at camp.

At the McGaw YMCA, we are committed to child safety and child abuse prevention. One of the ways we fulfill this commitment is to make sure every person who enters the McGaw YMCA is checked against the national sex offender database. We ask all visitors 18 and older to please bring a government-issued identification (such as a driver’s license or passport) to the McGaw YMCA front desk. If you are not a McGaw YMCA Member you will need to present a government-issued identification to enter the building for any duration of time.  The scan-in process will take just a few moments. Thank you for your support of our efforts!