Camp Takodah’s Website and your Privacy
We intend Camp Takodah’s website to be a fun and educational destination for campers, a useful resource for parents, and an engaging resource for our alumni. In order to meet these ends, we may ask users to share some information with us.
Generally speaking, you may browse our web site without sharing any information about yourself. When you visit our web site, you do so anonymously. We don’t collect personal information in connection with your browsing activity, including your e-mail address. We do log your IP address (the Internet address of your computer) to give us an idea of which parts of our web site you visit and how long you spend there. But we do not link your IP address to any personal information. Our web site does not use "cookies".
A few sections of our website offer interactive opportunities for children, parents, and alumni beyond a mere “browsing” experience. Alumni message boards, camper message boards and registering campers or making payments online are a few of those interactive features. Most of these sorts of features require a registration with our web site that will involve sharing personal information with us.
At Camp Takodah, we respect your privacy and are committed to protecting what personal information you do choose to share. Information you choose to share with us will be used only to provide the services you are registering for, or to communicate with you or your family. It would be in poor taste to share this information with others outside of the Camp Takodah organization. That’s not our style.
WHAT INFORMATION DO WE COLLECT?
Camp Takodah and the Cheshire YMCA collect information from you when you register for programs. We collect contact information (name, phone, email, mailing address) and other information (including gender and age) as needed for placement in our programs
WHAT DO WE DO WITH IT?
We do not share this information with other businesses or organizations, though we do create camper mailing lists each session to foster the continuation of the friendships started at camp.
HOW ABOUT MY CREDIT CARD INFO?
When we collect payment information for donations or registrations, it is through a secure website connection that encodes the information so that it cannot be intercepted during the transaction. We do not store credit card information once the transaction is complete, so you don’t need to worry about someone breaking into our offices or stealing our laptops!
OTHER INFORMATION COLLECTED AT REGISTRATION
When you register for a travel or camp program you also provide medical and confidential camper information on paper. This information is necessary for us to best meet your child’s needs, but is kept confidential through the camp session. We store “old” health forms in files at camp until Federal Law permits us to destroy them (at age 18).<
PARTICIPATION IN ONLINE FORUMS
We welcome you to participate in our online forums for campers, alumni, parents and staff and require that you register to request a username and password for these areas. We’ll need your email address, not to post or share, but just so we can send you your password to get started and when you forget it! We confirm that you are a member of the Camp Takodah community and collect up-to-date contact information so that we can send you newsletters and fundraising appeals approximately 4 times per year. Any other information you post to the forums, community map, or any other interactive areas of our website is entirely up to you. It will be seen by the other members of the forum.
FRAPPR MAP IS PUBLIC
While the forums are open only to members of the Camp Takodah community of alumni, staff and friends of the camp, the community map included in our alumni area is hosted by frappr.com and is also available to the public via the frappr.com website.
PHOTOS AND PHOTOS ON THE WEB
When you register for one of our travel or camping programs you sign a release saying that we can use your child’s photograph in publicity or promotional materials, including on our website. Photos for the general website are generally from a previous year. Current photos are available in a web gallery. We do not use names of campers in any captions.
CHILDREN’S INFORMATION ON THE WEB:
We know that young people enjoy social contacts via their keyboards and we offer a special “camperSpace” for our campers to keep in touch with their camp friends. This gives them a place to make connections within the CT community, and it gives us a chance to offer some reminders about internet safety and privacy issues. We wouldn’t send them into the lake without a lifeguard; we will be monitoring the forum and reserve the right to remove any “un-Takod” postings. Parents, staff, alumni will be able to participate in the camperSpace area to post messages to campers and to respond to camper postings. In compliance with the COPPA act, campers under the age of 13 will need parental permission to obtain a username and password for this area. Campers over the age of 13 will be given an account if they request one.
*The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act gives parents a chance to control what online information is collected from children under the age of 13 and it ensures that any information collected is kept private and confidential. A good resource for learning more about internet safety and how to teach kids about being safe online is http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/kidzprivacy/resources.htm.
PASSWORDS AND PERMISSIONS:
When parents drop their kids off at camp they will be given information about the online forums and a copy of the permission slip for campers under the age of 13 to join in online and keep up with their friends just as soon as they get home from camp. Parents wishing to submit a permission slip at a later date may download one here and mail it to the camp office at the address below. Parents may also revoke permission and request that posts by their child be removed. We collect a parent’s email address for the forum account so that a lost or forgotten password can be sent.Camper permission forms will be kept on file at the YMCA office.
YOUR WORDS ON THE WEB
Our forums are set up for conversations within the Takodah community. There will be times when we might ask your permission to quote you on the public side of the website or in future printed materials. We will not quote you without your permission.
THE TECHNICAL STUFF:
We do track your use of the website for statistical purposes to help us know what parts of the site are getting used or might need revision. This tracking does not connect your “clicks” with any personal information in any way. We do not use “cookies” that remain on your computer. (“Cookies” are snippets of code that some sites use to recognize you when you revisit a site.)
Our credit card handling is through the Savings Bank of Walpole and our registration partner www.PreEnroll.com
The YMCA and camp computer network is protected by an internet firewall.
QUESTIONS? WANT OUT?
If you have questions regarding our privacy policy, concerns about our website or users, or would like to have personal information that you have previously provided to us removed from our records, please contact us at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Happy surfing!
