BY BETTY JESPERSEN

Staff Writer

When she's at summer camp, Ida Wistar can set aside her normally hectic schedule and just enjoy being a 14-year-old.

"At camp, you can be yourself," said the Erskine Academy freshman from Vassalboro.

"The best thing about camp for me is having a chance to be able to talk and socialize with other kids from all over the country without a bunch of adults around to schedule everything," she said.

This summer will be Ida's fourth at Friends Camp, a Quaker camp on China Lake in South China. It offers activities for children of all faiths and allows them free time during the day to develop friendships.

The formula seems to be a success.

"I am very pleased. Our enrollment is up 10 percent over last year and we have closed sessions that have not been closed before," said the director of Friends Camp, Nat Shed.

Summer camp directors in central Maine are reporting a mix of enrollment stories in this gloomy economy. Surprisingly, however, some directors, like Shed, say numbers are up or at least on a par with last year.

"The economy is definitely having an impact on summer camps, but we also are seeing that families place a huge value on the camp experience as a critical part of a child's development," said Mary Ellen Deschenes, spokeswoman for Maine Youth Camping Foundation, an affiliate of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension.

Shed says enrollment at Friends Camp is three weeks ahead of what it was this time last year. The strong numbers will mean he can increase his staff from last year's 25 employees.

Value of the experience

"The economy is very good for us because we are a moderately priced camp," he said.

He said parents are shopping around more this year and are looking for places they can afford to send their children.

Friends Camp charges between $400 and $745, depending on whether the session is one week or two. Scholarships are available but because donations are down, financial help may be less, Shed said.

At the YMCA Camp of Maine in Winthrop, director Barry Costa is knocking on wood over the enrollment numbers, up each of the last three years.

"Working in our favor is our rate. It is still reasonable at $475 for one week. We provide scholarships and people can pay in installments," he said.

Camp can provide a positive, life-changing experience to a child. It is a place to have fun where the playing field is level, he said.

"There are no video games and no television here. Kids get a chance to be kids," he said.

Last year, the camp, through support of alumni, charitable foundations and several United Ways, provided $140,000 in scholarships.

This summer, the camp will offer free, one-week tuition to children of 50 active and non-active Maine military families as part of a three-year grant from the Armed Forces YMCA. For information, people can call Costa at 395-4200.

Economic impact

According to a 2005 study commissioned by the Maine Youth Camping Foundation, the impact of such camps on the Maine economy is $245 million annually.

The numbers reflect parents' visits with money spent on motels, bed and breakfasts and hotels, retail purchases, gas, food and staff employment. Camps also support about $25 million in tax revenues for state and local government, Deschenes said.

"The economy definitely is having an impact on summer camps. I have not heard of any in Maine closing but they are looking at their personnel and programs, which are their biggest costs," she said.

At Camp Runoia, a 100-year-old girls camp in Belgrade Lakes that charges between $4,400 and $7,100, depending on session length, enrollment is full, said director Pamela Cobb.

"Families are making a commitment to their children's development and education. They know camp is not just a frivolous activity," she said.

Mark and Elizabeth Standen, who manage 85-year-old Camp Kawahnee for Boys on Webb Lake, in Weld in the western mountains, say enrollment is down at least 5 percent from this time last year. There are fewer new campers but Kawahnee's return rate remains steady.

The camp, which normally has about 150 boys, charges between $3,000 and $6,100, depending on the length of stay, while an endowment, supported through the George & Raymond Frank Foundation, provides aid that favors Maine children.

Camp Matoaka, a girl's camp on North Pond in Smithfield, has reached its 290-camper capacity with a 90 percent return rate, said director Jason Silberman.

"We have found the dollar a parent spends on their children is the last one cut from the budget," he said. "They don't want children to miss an opportunity and they know that camp provides something special."

The camp attracts children from 27 different states and a half-dozen foreign countries.

"People look at a camp experience more as an investment and not just an activity to send their kids to for the summer," he said.

Betty Jespersen -- 778-6991

bjespersen@centralmaine.com