Camp Happiness is a Milford Recreation camp for Milford residents with special needs. Participants range in age from those entering kindergarten in fall through 6th grade. We are a day camp located at Foran High School. It runs for six one-week sessions during the summer months. Children qualify to attend camp if they have an IEP through the City of Milford.
Campers are put into groups that are formed with children's ages and needs in mind. Needs of our campers range from developmental delays, speech and language delays, social/emotional delays, and multi-handicapping conditions.
Camp Happiness follows a structured-day schedule from 9 AM - 3 PM with campers participating in a morning gathering, Music, Arts & Crafts, Physical Education, and a create your own period where campers and counselors get creative together! Swimming is also BACK in 2023! Musicians, and other entertainers visit camp each week. We are introducing theme weeks this year, where campers will dress up, participate in special events, and participate in themed activities. Highlights include our camp carnival, tie dying, Camp Olympics, Pirate Day, and so much more! Camp has been on the receiving end of generosity from our community for so long, and we love to give back to the community that raised us by showing our campers what it means to give back. This is one of our favorite parts of our camp season together.
Before Care and After care will be offered again this season. Before care is from 8:30 am - 9 am and After care is from 3:00pm - 3:30pm. Before care and After care sign ups will happen prior to camp starting so that we can ensure enough staff for children attending. You have to sign up to drop off early and pick up your child later than normal camp hours.
Camp Happiness has been a staple in Milford since 1965. It has evolved from a camp of 20 - 30 children to a camp of 100 - 120 each summer. There are 40 paid staff members who are high school students, college students and some teachers. The camp has a full time nurse on duty. We also have a behavioral management program in place.
Camp Happiness' motto is Come On ~ Get Happy! We try to give our campers the ultimate camp experience where they can grow, thrive, and feel love and acceptance. We're so excited to welcome you into our camp family!
Here are our theme weeks for 2023!
Week 1 June 26 - June 30: Color Week
- Monday - Happy First Day at Camp!
- Tuesday - Terrific Tuesday at Camp!
- Wednesday - Color Bingo
- Thursday - Pajama Storybook Day
- Friday - Favorite Color Friday
Week 2 July 5 - July 7: Holiday Week
- Monday - No Camp - July 4th Holiday!
- Tuesday - No Camp - July 4th Holiday!
- Wednesday - Earth Day (Plant something)/ Birth Day! (Camp Happiness's Birthday)
- Thursday - Halloween Day - Trunk or Treat
- Friday - Friendsgiving Friday! - Pirates Themed
Week 3 July 10 - July 14: Sports Week
- Monday - MVP Monday
- Tuesday - Team Tuesday (Wear your favorite team)
- Wednesday - Work-out Wednesday (Zumba!)
- Thursday - Olympic Day
- Friday - Fitness Friday (Yoga!)
Week 4 July 17 - July 21: Animal Week
- Monday - Zoo Day
- Tuesday - Lost at Sea Day
- Wednesday - Farm Day (Gilbert)
- Thursday - Jungle Day (Slither and Swim)
- Friday - Dinosaur Day (Dinosaur Egg Hunt)
Week 5 July 24 - July 28: Wacky Week
- Monday - Make it Monday
- Tuesday - Tasty Tuesday (Ice Cream Sundaes)
- Wednesday - Wacky Wednesday
- Thursday - Carnival Day
- Friday - Movie Day
Week 6 July 31 - August 3: Disney Week
- Monday - Mousketeer Monday
- Tuesday - Talent Show Tuesday
- Wednesday - Wish Upon a Star Wednesday - Dress as your favorite Disney Character
- Thursday - Family & Friends Day
- Friday - NO CAMP!!!