Camp Joy

★★★★★Greta Moon

My son loves his camp experiences. All of the staff are amazing. My son is always excited for weeks before he goes and talks about his experiences with the other campers and staff for weeks after.

★★★★brooks

good place. food was extremely well prepared. unfortunately there was a wasp in our cabin. but was quickly taken care of. also forgot to mention noah is so cool.

★★Joe Hendrickson

I just did a prohibition reenactment tonight, and Camp Joy came vividly back to memory. I was there as a 6th grader and I remember the absolute fear and intensity, confusion and feelings of death and panic around me as young kids were screamed at by the crew of “slave owners” brought in for the underground railroad. You had white adults screaming at young black kids, latino kids, white irish kids, 11-12 years old, trying to teach them “how it once felt to be a slave” and no amount of abuse would be appropriate or real to teach this to children. Id be extremely curious to learn who designed these theatrics and how they found donors to pay for its development. Who were the donors? Did it come from the state? Did the school districts buy into it? Was it a side program to the camp that the school district selected? Especially during cognitive development, I look back and believe that this was not only a traumatic and ridiculous experience that had very little to do with understanding what it was like to be a slave, but it was also a racially polarizing approach that further separated kids of different ethnic backgrounds, and did not support the understanding of American history or present day friendships and integrations between people. Looking back, it was just feelings of panic, chaos, and confusion blended with some beautiful wooded trails. I remember the teachings of evolution at Camp Joy, too. I was actually removed from my student group, as a kid, because I refused to believe in the timeline for earth’s development that was presented. That type of isolation, because of challenging science, holding to my beliefs as a child but being posterized to my classmates as “the bad kid” for it, was probably my worst memory of the 6th grade, and a very defining moment for me where I firmly believed that authority figures were wrong (and maybe even idiots). That type of belief, and feeling like the black sheep, led me to be the class clown in the 7th and 8th grade until an English teacher, Mrs. Gettingher, pulled me out of class one day and put me in an intellectual group of students to explore the future of science. It went from 2.0 in middle school to 3.9 graduating average in high school as soon as I saw authority validate my intelligence and creativity. Overall, the negative reinforcement of Camp Joy was very strange and vividly memorable in uncomfortable ways. I think it contributed to more racial and scientific/religious belief separation in middle school and high school than I realized, until tonight when I was an actor in a reenactment that brought back the memories of it. I think my main concern is that the camp’s non-profit operations may have shifted towards the administrative funding and some sort of special interest groups were funding these vivid “lessons” while merely experimenting with their impact on children and our future development. Im all for risk taking around education, but pushing kids emotionally, to a level of extreme intensity around race and religion, should not have been part of the Hilliard curriculum. That being said, if I remember correctly, we all consented to opt in or out.

★Miya DIHlucious

I went here in 5th grade and I am still traumatized. I found a rat in my bed. The food was terrible I puked like 6 or 7 times. There is a strike system which is terribly constructed. I got a strike for wanting to keep a WORM. Which if I am remembering correctly the counselor ripped the worm out of my hand and made me pay for its hospital bills. I also stepped on a mosquito and had to apologize because we are all equal under the law. Another stupid incident was when my friend got attacked by a black widow. Also when taking a shower and the water is brown at first so you had to let it run for 2 minutes, therefore there was no warm water left. The hikes are terrible someone in my grade slipped and he fell and he got mud all over his clothes and the counselor yelled at him for taking the mud away from its home. I heard whispers of people referring to the counselors as creepy vegans. Make sure you are aware of all the lawsuits against this place. NEVER COMING BACK. Tip: you know how you tell hikers to be aware of bears? Thats the story of this place, the counselors are practically bears as the whispers tell me. Again I went here a long time ago so I may be remembering some of the details wrong. P.S may be confusing this with the nightmares this place gave me. #campjoysurvivor #CAMP-JOYLESS

★★★★★Missy Mae Walters

Excellent venue for a retreat. I was really worried the cabins were going to be exceptionally cool being in the middle of January but they were very warm.