The Fine Print

Deposits
All sessions have a non-refundable and non-transferable deposit of $50. Expeditions have a deposit of $100. If this is a hardship for your family, please call our office and we can provide you a code to bypass it. If your family is not approved for financial aid, we will refund your deposit in full.

Age Requirements
We generally use grade levels as a way to group children and follow York’s enrollment cut-off date of October 15, 2026. We know this causes a little bit of confusion, especially when so many children have waited a year to enter kindergarten. The minimum age to participate in Coastal Forest Camp is age 6 by October 15, 2026 (regardless of grade level).  This means a child can be 5 during the summer but must turn 6 by October 15, 2026. For Leadership Adventure Camp, we let parents decide if their 10 year olds are ready for the additional challenge of being at Zach’s Farm with the older kids. A 10 year old is still welcome to participate at CRES and we recommend first-time 10 year old campers start there. Please call our office for any questions; we’ll be happy to speak with you about your child!

Parent Handbook
When registering, parents will be asked to agree to the policies in our parent handbook, which you can read here. The handbook contains important information around our curriculum, safety protocols and disciplinary process. We especially recommend that families new to White Pine review the document together with their child.

Transfers
We often get requests to switch weeks at the last minute and do what we can to accommodate those. However, once we are within a 2 week period of the camp starting, we are unable to make those shifts as we rarely can fill the open spots. These shifts are very labor and time intensive and we simply don’t have the human power to handle them. We appreciate your understanding.

Cancellation Policy
There is a non-refundable $50 administrative fee for cancellations anytime prior to the program’s start date. Cancellations made within 60 – 31 days of the program’s start date may receive a refund of 50% of full tuition, less the non-refundable administrative fee. Cancellations 2 weeks or less before the program’s start date receive no refund. Please Click Here for More Details

Sliding Scale Tuition
This model leans on families who are well-resourced financially to help subsidize families who may be choosing between summer child care and basic needs. Please feel free to contact us if you have questions or would like more information on how to select your child’s tuition. 

To ensure we have enough money to provide a robust scholarship program, we need families to help support our financial aid program by selecting the “support a camper” tuition or by making a donation at checkout. As a small 501(C)3 non-profit, our participant fees do not cover all our actual costs for programming and we rely on generous individuals and businesses to help cover the gap. Any and all donations will be receipted for tax purposes. 

Financial Aid
Our new process is super easy – simply select the tuition your family can afford, then answer a few short questions during registration. Applying for aid does not guarantee we can provide you with the requested amount, however, we will do the best we can based on enrollment and the fundraising we do during registration. Applicants will be notified within 45 days of their registration. If making the non-refundable deposit is a hardship, please call our office at 207-361-1911. We offer tuition discounts of 25% and 50% which can be self-selected during registration. If your family needs more than 50%, please select the lower tuition and provide details to us in the financial aid section. We do everything we can to avoid turning families away, so please ask for what you need. Requests made for aid during registration are reviewed monthly. Should we not be able to fulfill your request, we will provide a full refund of monies paid and your deposit. Unfortunately, we cannot extend financial aid for more than one session to a single family member. If you have questions about the process or want to provide more information about your application, please call our office at 207-361-1911. 

Groupings & Friends
We understand that, often, friends and family members sign up for camp on the same week to be together, and we do the best we can to honor those requests. However, balancing groups is tricky business! We appreciate your understanding.

Special Needs
One of the most wonderful things about the outdoors is that nature is an equalizer. Many of the children who participate in our programs have IEPs and thrive at White Pine Programs. If your child receives services as part of an IEP, 504 plan, or requires extra behavioral support, please inquire to determine if our camp is an appropriate fit for your child(ren) by calling our office 207-361-1911 or emailing samm@whitepineprograms.org as soon as you register. If a discussion determines that White Pine is not the right fit, we will honor full cancellations.

If your child works within an IEP or 504 plan, it is very helpful when families share these plans with us so that we can communicate with teachers, counselors, other professionals such as OT/speech therapists, and parents/guardians about accommodations and strategies. We partner closely with caregivers to make every effort to ensure students are successful in the program. However, safety is our first priority and behavior that puts our staff or other children at risk will be addressed swiftly and may result in a child not continuing with the program. Sometimes it’s helpful to review our behavior protocols before registering if you have concerns on whether or not White Pine would be a good fit for your child.

As a small nonprofit, we do not have the resources to provide one on one services to children who need them.  We welcome having outside professionals, such as a school-provided ed-tech/para-professional one-on-one aid, to accompany students to provide that support.