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Camp Details

What you'll find on this page:

HSP Schedules   Safety Guidelines   Guidelines & Expectations   What to pack

Schedule for HSP Week

Sunday: Groups arrive at Highland United Methodist Church in Raleigh (1901 Ridge Road, Raleigh, NC 27607) early Sunday afternoon for registration. You will be greeted by volunteers who will guide you through cabin and other sign-ups.  Then we’ll introduce the camp staff and participating groups, go over our schedule for the day, then begin orientation to HSP and our week ahead.

Around the middle of the afternoon we will leave Highland and proceed to Camp Lapihio.  Everyone will unload and move into their cabins as the staff works to set up the camp.

Later we will have dinner, more orientation, and then have an introduction to our program for the week. Everyone will get to have some free time before heading to their cabins at 10:30 p.m.

Monday - Friday: Work days.  See the daily schedule just below.

Dinner on Wednesday is special because HSP invites the families of all HSP participants to bring a dish for a pot luck dinner at Camp Lapihio at Umstead State Park. Dinner is a special time to reconnect and share the HSP experience with family. Dinner will start at 6 p.m. A map to Umstead State Park and a map of the park are available here:  https://www.ncparks.gov/william-b-umstead-state-park/directions

Saturday: Sadly, it's over. We will have breakfast, fill out an evaluation, then everyone will help pack up and clean up the camp. We’ll take a group picture then have a closing circle. Bring money for lunch if your church group needs to eat on the road back to home.

Daily Schedule (Monday – Friday)

Our group times in the meeting hall are signaled by an air horn blown 10 minutes before the activity start time.  Being on time is important to make good use of everyone’s time.

6:30 a.m. Wake up!

7:00 a.m. Breakfast. It's the most important meal of the day!

7:45 a.m. Morning devotion time.

8:15 a.m. Load up! After brushing your teeth and picking up your personal items, youth from each work team are assigned to collect your tools, lunches, water coolers and get them to your vehicle.

8:30 a.m. Head out. Go do something radical for God!

9:00 a.m. Arrive at your work site around 9:00, depending on the length of your drive.

12 noon-ish Lunch break! Thank God for your blessings.

After lunch Back to work.

3:30 - 4:30 p.m. Arrive back at camp.  Check in your tools, empty lunch and water coolers, then head to the bathhouse for showers.  Free time until dinner.

6:00 p.m. Dinner. Not necessarily the quietest part of the day.

After dinner Make lunch for tomorrow.

~7:15 p.m. Games, songs, evening program. Each night it will be different.

8:30 p.m. Small group time. This is time for your home youth group to have time together.

After small groups Free time, card games or just hang out!

10:30 p.m. Head to cabins.

11:00 p.m. Lights out! This means you are all ready for bed and in your cabin for the night.

Safety

Keeping our youth and adult workers safe is one of the highest priorities of Highland Service Project. The project advisor who writes up your work site will highlight any particular safety issues observed at your work site.

The following are generally recommended guidelines for work safety.

  • No one is required to do work that they may not feel safe in doing.
  • Wear safety glasses when using power or hand tools or doing demolition.
  • Wear closed-toed, hard-sole shoes.
  • Use gloves for handling such things as rough boards as well as during demolition.
  • Generally, as the distance between the work and the ground increases so will the difficulty and the potential dangers. Height is a problem for some people; watch for areas that may not support your weight. Ladders are to be checked by an adult before climbing.
  • Keep your work site free of debris; especially watch for nails in boards. Remove or bend all nails in scrap wood.
  • Always know where each work team member is. Use the buddy system, no one should work alone.
  • Watch for heat exhaustion. Summer weather is hot; take frequent water breaks.
  • Make sure all power and hand tools are used correctly. Do not crowd anyone using tools. Always disconnect power from tools before changing blades or bits or making any adjustments to the tool. Do not use dull blades or drill bits. Do not use power tools in damp or wet conditions. Check electrical extension cords for broken or exposed parts.
  • Watch out for overhead wires and consider all seen as dangerous.
  • Secure all ladders before using. Tie off extension ladders where possible.
  • Remember that all accidents can be prevented by observing existing conditions and realizing every action will have a reaction.

Please make sure that the registration forms for your adults include their cell phone number so that we can make a list of phone numbers for everyone!

Guidelines and Expectations

Rules and guidelines give us structure, boundaries and limits. These, coupled with our faith commitment, allow us to function more completely as the Body of Christ. This is not to come across as too strict but to model the fact the Christian life is one in which we have standards we follow as we grow in our love for God and for each other.

Music: To promote fellowship and safety, no music is allowed on a work site.

No cell phones: Only adult leaders are allowed to have cell phones during the week.

No one should leave a work site for any reason. Do not walk to the store, go to another work site, or enter other homes.

NO drugs, alcohol, or tobacco will be allowed! No warnings given; violators will be sent home with NO refund to the individual or the group's expense.

Everyone needs to eat three meals a day and drink plenty of water so that you are using the bathroom!

Respect the facilities and all those with whom you are sharing space!

No guys in girl's areas and no girls in guy's areas. Sexual behavior, be it implied, consensual, or verbal, will not be tolerated. No warnings given; violators will be sent home with NO refund.

Observe lights out and bed time.  You really will need your sleep.

Appropriate dress is required for everyone, youth and adults. Guys and girls must wear shirts with sleeves to the worksites. No Exceptions.

Verbal or physical abuse will not be tolerated.

Group leaders and group members participate. We ask everyone attending to participate fully in all activities of HSP.

What to pack

For your cabin:

  • Sleeping bag (with sheet) or sheets and a light blanket or quilt. A mattress pad or camping mattress is optional.
  • Pillow
  • Towels and washcloths
  • Toiletries, shower shoes
  • Flashlight (no electricity in cabins!)
  • Jacket and rain gear
  • Battery operated fan (optional)

For the work site:

  • Work clothes. Old clothes are best as you may encounter paint, caulking, vinyl adhesive, etc. It is good to have at least one pair of long pants. You need 5 sets of clothes for 5 days of work. GUYS AND GIRLS MUST WEAR SHIRTS WITH SLEEVES. No exceptions.
  • A pair of hard-soled shoes is safest and recommended but we understand that many won't have these. No open toe shoes or sandals are allowed on the work site.
  • Safety goggles — REQUIRED. (Put your name on them; these will remain usable longer in a zip lock bag; also, goggles are preferable to safety glasses.)
  • A pair of work gloves — REQUIRED. (Put your name on them.)
  • Hammer — REQUIRED. (Put your name on it.)
  • Ear plugs (for hearing protection) are recommended but optional.
  • Water bottle — REQUIRED. We want everyone to bring a water bottle to use for lunch and water breaks on the work site to reduce the number of disposable plastic cups we use during the week.

Back at camp:

  • Informal camp clothes. You will want an extra set of clothes for after work each day. Both work and camp clothes should be appropriate for church camp; no alcohol or drug logos, no rude or suggestive graphics or words. Every adult leader has the right to make you change your shirt if they think it's inappropriate.
  • Even around camp we recommend no open toe shoes or sandals (woods, sticks, roots, rocks, mud).

Other things to bring:

  • Bible
  • Sunscreen; a hat if you do hats
  • Insect repellant
  • Games and playing cards
  • Small amount of extra spending money for snacks & drinks, lunch if your church group eats on the road home.

What NOT to bring to camp:

  • Expensive jewelry. Any valuables that you bring will be at your own risk.
  • Cell phone (youth). If you have a cell phone, your group leader (from your church) will collect your cell phone before we leave Highland UMC on Sunday afternoon. Your cell phone will be returned to you on Saturday morning after our closing circle.
    • Parents: Your child will never be apart from an adult who has a cell phone. Please trust that we will allow your child to contact you if it is truly needed. Keep the cell phones at home.
  • Bluetooth speaker. For safety and to promote fellowship, music is not allowed on the work site.
  • Alcohol, drugs, electronic or regular cigarettes, weapons, fireworks, Coleman lanterns. Anything that sparks runs the risk of a forest fire.