What is the AVVAL Philosophy?

The AVVAL is an agreement we use at camp, both in sleepaway and at Day Camp. It is about living together in an environment of respect and values.

AVVAL stands for Agreement to Value ourselves and Value Others. (Full Value Contract)

In the overnight stay, the first day of camp, after settling in the cabins, playing and dining, we make our first campfire, and there we start practicing AVVAL. In a family environment, we explain how to play in AVVAL.

AVVAL is an AGREEMENT and I am committed to:

• Playing fair — it has to do with honesty
• Play safe — no one can get hurt, either physically or emotionally
• Play with everything you have – give your best, have a positive attitude

Example: if I do not like something about someone, I am committed to being honest and telling them, and I am also committed to telling them without hurting them.

And from this moment on we spend 3 weeks enjoying the best activities, games and experiences, and from time to time you hear: “that is outside AVVAL”. Is a reference, you are in AVVAL or you are out of AVVAL. And at the end of the season, we can get little messages from a mom or a dad…. “Raymond how is it that my son tells me I am out of AVVAL? And that is when we know that the message came to that home too.

In our Day Camp we also teach them values from an early age so that they gain confidence and respect for the years to come and when they are ready to go to the sleepaway, they already know the philosophy of valuing themselves and valuing others.

Raymond Cidad