Double the Campers, Double the Fun

Last summer saw a significant expansion of Allerton Day Camp, increasing the total number of campers accommodated from 70 to 143. Families from surrounding communities jumped at the chance to have more Allerton in their lives. If we could have predicted what an excellent summer it was going to be, we would have expanded camp long ago!

By all conventional standards, Allerton Day Camp 2018 was a huge success. We saw registration levels soar and more children attending than ever before, which is a wonderful thing. But what is the true measure of success for camp? It certainly can’t be measured with numbers. What Allerton Day Camp strives to do is bring the outdoors back into children’s lives. What we see when our campers spend the summer playing and exploring together outside is wild imagination and relaxed engagement. They go home tired and happy. Learning is happening all around, but often campers don’t even know it.

Outside of school, outside of electronics – camp is a place to run and play. Campers dug in the dirt, threw sticks into the Sangamon, and played tag in the Meadow. Some campers attended for one week, others registered for the entire summer. Either way, they all experienced Allerton Park in a way that we hope becomes a lifelong memory.