Volunteer spirit
The all-girls Camp Danbee emphasizes values like volunteering, with campers taking on jobs in the community (giving a much-needed paint job to a late-18th-century library, for example, or doing their latest dance routines at a nearby nursing home). The positive attitude stems from the communal spirit the girls develop as they spend the entire summer on the shores of Lake Ashmere in the Berkshires. Amenities include a large gymnastics center, an arts-and-crafts studio for working on pottery, stained glass, and mural designs, an equestrian center, a ropes course, zip line, tennis courts, water-skiing, windsurfing, and a 100-foot water slide. No wonder the camp has a return rate close to 90 percent.
Hinsdale. $5,300 for a four-week program to $9,200 for the full seven-week session. First session: June 27. A five-day Discovery Camp is available to first-time campers for $700 Aug. 2-6. Three campers per counselor. 973-402-0606; campdanbee.com
