Summer Camp FAQ

There is a $25 cancelation fee for camp, for cancelations made from February 1st through April 30th. Cancelations that occur between May 1st through two weeks prior to your child’s session start date will be charged a cancelation fee of 50% of your tuition. Cancellations made less than two weeks prior to the start of your child’s session are not refundable. The MSPCA Summer Camp does not offer prorated rates for missed attendance (even due to illness, or conflicts with your child’s end of school date). There is $25 administrative fee for changing sessions, for any reason. Please be advised that we are only able to move campers to another session if that session is not sold out. If you need to cancel your child’s session because we are unable to move them, you are subject to the cancelation policy. All fees are per session and per child, regardless of the cancelation reason.

An exception to the cancelation policy will be granted only in the event of an injury or illness that would prevent your child from participating in the entire week of camp. In order to receive a refund in full, we require a note from your child’s physician indicating that they are unfit to participate during the dates they are registered for. Our cancelation policy is strictly enforced, so please contact us at humaneeducation@mspca.org if you have any questions prior to registering.

Contact us by email at humaneeducation@mspca.org or phone to change weeks, and we will do our best to help you. There is a $25 administrative fee per camper for switching sessions. It is not easy to accommodate schedule changes once a session sells out – in order to move your child to a session that has filled, we need to have a cancelation for that session. If your child is unable to attend the week of camp they are registered for, and we are unable to change them to another session, you will be subject to our cancellation policy.

Registration opens each year on February 1st, and will be posted until all spots are filled. To register your child for our camp program, visit www.mspca.org/nevinssummercamp and submit an electronic registration. You will receive an email confirmation that your registration was received by our staff.

Yes, you may register for as many weeks of camp as your child is eligible to attend based on their age.  Registrations for the camp are on a first come, first serve basis.

While we understand that some children are more mature than others, or that they may have a sibling or friend who is attending another session, we prefer campers to register for sessions that are designed for their age group. The activities and discussions that are planned each week are planned according to the age of children who will be attending. While we strongly encourage you to register your child with their age group, we may be able to make an exception if your child is close in age to the session they want to attend. Exceptions to the age groups require approval from the Camp Director prior to registration, so please contact us by email or phone ahead of time so we can be sure that this option will be a good fit for your child. Due to Massachusetts summer camp regulations regarding the age of our staff and campers, we regretfully cannot allow children under the age of 6 to attend camp, and we cannot allow children ages 13 and 14 to attend any session other than H. If your child is over the age of 13 and is registered for a session other than H, or will not be age 6 by the start of their camp session, they will not be able to attend that week, and you will be subject to the cancelation policy fees. Campers who are registered as Counselors in Training must be age 14, no exceptions. Our volunteer Junior Counselors must be 15 or older, and our Head Counselors must be 17 or older.

When a session is sold out, our online registration form will no longer show that week of camp as a registration option.  When all sessions of camp are full, we will also remove the registration button from the web page, and indicate on the web page that the camp is sold out for the summer.  There is a button on the main registration page for our Wait List, please use this form to add your child to the Wait List for any age appropriate session(s).  Our summer camp is popular and space is limited; we recommend registering as early as possible!

Our registration for summer camp is online only, using a credit or debit card. If you do not have access to a computer, or the ability to pay for camp online, please contact the camp director for help well ahead of the February 1st registration opening. Printed out copies of the registration web page with handwriting and a check mailed to the MSPCA will not be accepted as a form of registration.

You will receive an automatic response in your email inbox within 24 hours with additional information, including our full summer camp policies, where pick up and drop is, and what to bring. We will send a reminder email the Friday before your child is scheduled to attend camp which highlights the most important things to remember for your session.

Our new web site makes registration easier, by requiring parents to submit all documents and forms required for camp at the time of registration. However, there may be times in which a parent needs to update the information on the registration form.  We recommend that all updated forms or documents are submitted to us via fax or email.

If your child’s immunization record or physical has been updated after you registered for camp, we will need a copy of the updated version.  Parents must fill out an “Authorization to Administer Medication Form” if their child will be bringing any medication to camp (even over the counter medication), if they did not do so during the online registration.  Please plan on filling out an updated form on your child’s first day of camp, or email us for an advanced copy of the form to bring with you. If a person other than a parent will be picking your child up from camp, we need to have this in writing (an email is fine), if this information was not filled out during your online registration.  If any other information has changed (phone numbers, address, ect.) since your registration and you need to update your form, please email us.

In the past, we have occasionally had parents try to circumvent the online registration requirements by submitting a document that is not their child’s immunization record during the registration process.  Since your child cannot attend or be left at camp without an immunization record on file, we strongly recommend submitting this form at the time of registration as required.  If you did not do this, please send a copy of your child’s immunization record to us immediately, in order to avoid any issues on the first day of camp, or risking your child’s spot being forfeited. Registrations that are incomplete are at risk of forfeiting their spot and will be subject to our cancelation policy.

Paperwork can be submitted by fax (617.989.1651), email (humaneeducation@mspca.org), snail mail (MSPCA at Nevins Farm, ATTN: SUMMER CAMP, 400 Broadway Methuen MA, 01844), or dropped off in person during normal business hours.  We strongly recommend that you submit all paperwork by email – this is the fastest and most secure way for us to confirm that your paperwork has been received.

While the MSPCA is a nonprofit, the IRS does not allow you to claim money paid to a nonprofit for a service as a charitable deduction. However, you may be able to claim the cost of camp as a child care deduction, or on your company’s flexible spending account for dependent care. We recommend consulting your accountant or HR department to check. Our tax ID is 042-103-597.

The MSPCA believes that all children deserve the opportunity to engage in meaningful humane education programs, despite financial hardships. We offer both full and partial scholarships to families in need of financial assistance. You can apply for financial aid by clicking on the financial aid button on the main page. Registration for Financial Aid applicants begins on January 1st.

You should have information handy, including your monthly household income, your rent/mortgage expenses, and any government programs for which you receive assistance. After you apply, you will receive an email response indicating your form has been received. You should receive an approval notification email within 3 business days with a discount code that will allow you to register for camp at the discounted rate.

Once you have been awarded aid, you need to register prior to the general February 1st registration opening of camp in order to assure your child’s spot. Although you can technically still register after general registration opens, your child’s spot will no longer be held, and there is a possibility that the session will sell out. Once a session sells out, we will be unable to add your child to the session, although we can add you to the Wait List in the event that space opens up in the future. For this reason, please do not delay registering once you are awarded aid!

Financial aid is usually granted to anyone who receives help from government assistance programs. Families also have the opportunity to share with us any extenuating circumstances when submitting their application. Please keep in mind when applying that our funds are limited, and accepted on a rolling basis. We ask that families who can otherwise afford camp, but may need a payment plan, contact us directly to work something out. In order for us to be able to help as many families as possible, FA applicants are limited to registering their child to no more than two weeks of camp, or one week as a Counselor in Training (CIT spots are very limited).

The MSPCA Summer Camp has always sold out prior to opening day, but since 2021, the camp has completely filled on the first day of registration. For that reason, we recommend that you register for camp as early as possible.

All campers work alongside the barn and adoption center staff, participating in the care of our animals; activities include mucking horse stalls, cleaning rabbit cages, feeding cats, walking dogs, and socializing (petting and playing with!) the many creatures at the MSPCA at Nevins Farm.  In addition to the experience providing care to a variety of animals on site, campers also learn about important animal welfare topics in daily discussions, and meet a variety of animal care professionals who participate as guest speakers.  And just like any fun summer camp experience, our campers make crafts, sing songs, and play games!

The types of animals who are waiting to be adopted into loving homes at Nevins Farm constantly changes, but we typically have lots of dogs, cats, horses, rabbits, chickens, ducks, pigs, guinea pigs, chinchillas, ferrets, sheep, goats, cows exotic birds, alpacas, and the occasional reptile at our facility as well. Animals at Nevins Farm come in all age groups; babies, adults, and seniors. Animals are pre-selected by our adoption center staff before visiting with our campers.

There are as many as 36 campers in each session. For most activities, campers will be working in smaller groups of 12. In addition to the Summer Camp Director, there are three Head Counselors and about eight Junior Counselors per session. The Director and Head Counselors are CPR/First Aid Certified; Junior Counselors also receive basic First Aid Training during their orientation. All camp staff members attend special training and orientation at the MSPCA, and are fully CORI/SORI checked prior to camp.

MSPCA Children’s Summer Camp complies with all the regulations imposed by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, and is licensed and inspected by the Methuen Board of Health. Parents have the right to request and review the following: background check, and camp policies and procedures.

This depends on the severity of your child’s allergies and their comfort level around hay or animals.  Our facility is very clean and has great ventilation, but we house hundreds of animals in a relatively confined space, which can be too much for some allergy sufferers.  Children with mild allergies have attended camp in the past and had a lot of fun doing so.  However, if your child’s allergies are severe enough that they cannot comfortably share a room with several animals (or even hay), whether or not they are touching them, then Summer Camp at the MSPCA is probably not the best choice for them.   If your child has mild allergies, and you’re not sure whether or not camp will be too much for them, a great way to check in advance is to visit our adoption center and spend time in our cat (or rabbit, or dog) rooms.  Due to the variety of animal feeds and other products used throughout the property, we are not a peanut-free environment.  Children with mild peanut allergies have attended camp in the past; if this situation also applies to your child, please consult your child’s pediatrician to determine the safest course of action.

We do not provide transportation at our summer camp.

We do not offer before or after care at this time.  Drop off for camp begins at 8:45am (camp starts at 9am) and pick up is promptly at 3pm.

Campers should dress in comfortable clothing that they do not mind getting a little dirty, and comfortable sneakers. We recommend bringing rubber rain boots for cleaning in the chicken coop and horse stalls, a sweatshirt for inside areas (our AC is cranked pretty high), sunscreen, bug repellent, a snack, lunch, a reusable water bottle (we have refilling stations), change of clothing just in case, and foul weather gear (we will go outside for animal care chores in the rain). We have cubbies to store extra belongings throughout the day. Campers are allowed to bring cameras or video recorders, but we are not responsible for lost, stolen, or broken valuables. Please do not bring sandals (even if they have covered toes), open toed shoes, handheld video game consoles, jewelry or anything valuable that you are concerned about to camp. Cell phones are not allowed at camp. If your child needs to bring a cell phone with them for after camp, please check it in with the camp director in the morning, and it will be returned to them when they leave.  If your child’s cell phone is doubling as their camera or video recorder, they may use it during camp hours for that purpose only.

Yes, you need to pack a lunch, drink and snack for camp each day. Your child should also bring a refillable water bottle each day, as it is hot here in the summer. We have refrigeration available for lunches, but do not have access to microwaves or stoves. We ask that parents help us to reinforce what your children are learning at camp by using as much reusable or recyclable material as possible to pack your child’s lunch each day.  Since we are not a peanut free facility, we do not have restrictions on the food your child brings to camp.  However, please ask your child not to share their food with other campers in case of allergies.

Our address is 400 Broadway Methuen MA, 01844.  Children are dropped off and picked up at our outdoor riding ring, which is located to the far left of the Noble Animal Care and Adoption Center building.  Camp families should park their car in the main parking lot and walk up to the ring to sign their child in or out of camp.  Please remember that we need written permission if an adult other than a parent will be picking your child up from camp, and that non parents should be prepared to show a picture ID if it is their first time picking up.  All campers must be signed in and out of camp, and should never be left unattended on our property.  In the event of rain, campers will be picked up at the Education Room entrance, which is also located to the far left of the Noble Family Animal Care and Adoption Center.

We will honor one buddy request per camper (both children must request each other). There is a spot on your child’s registration form to enter a buddy request. Please keep in mind that due to the large number of buddy requests we receive, we cannot accommodate larger buddy request, as this affects our ability to have the correct staff to camper ratio for certain activities, as well as honor all buddy requests.  Campers are broken into smaller groups for some of our hands on animal activities, but they are also frequently all together, so not being in the same group as a buddy does not mean you will not see them all day.  We find that most campers make many new friends throughout the week!  Please be advised that if you list multiple buddies on your buddy list, or create large “buddy chains” with other parents, we may not be able to honor these requests, based on the buddy requests of the entire session.