Camp groups
Plan summer camps with your class or team
Post one link in the group chat. Families who join see which camps and weeks everyone's doing, so kids can go together. Each family chooses what to share.
For room parents, coaches, church volunteers and den leaders.
How it works
- 1
Start a group
Name it (the class or teacher is enough, no school name needed) and pick the type: class, team, church, scouts or neighborhood.
- 2
Share one link
Send it to iMessage, WhatsApp or GroupMe, paste it in a newsletter, or print the QR code for a class folder or bulletin.
- 3
See where everyone's going
Families choose what to share, kid by kid. The group board shows each camp week, with the most families first.
What families share
- Nothing until you choose, for each kid and each group
- Kids' first names and emoji, the camp and the dates
- Your family as a first name and last initial ("Sarah L.")
- Times, addresses, ages or schools
- Anything medical or from your kids' profiles
- A way for strangers to search for you or your group
Organizers stay in control
- Approve new families before they see anything (optional)
- An email right away when a family asks to join, and a daily summary of families who join (you can turn it off)
- Remove a family; they can't rejoin with the link unless you let them back in
- Turn the link off, renew it, or reset it so old links stop working
- Add up to two co-organizers
- Up to 40 families: one group per class, not the whole school
Just a few close families?
Use friends instead: a private invite for each family, and their kids show up on your calendar and on camp cards as you browse. You can use both. Your settings for friends and for each group are separate.
More in the FAQQuestions
Who can start a group?
Any parent with a free Summerly account. Open the Friends tab on your planner and tap Start a group. You're the group's owner, and you can make up to two other parents organizers.
How do families join?
Share the group link in your group chat (iMessage, WhatsApp, GroupMe), in an email or newsletter, or print the QR code. Families without an account sign up free and come straight back to the group. You can require approval, so new families wait for an organizer before they see anything.
What do other families see?
Nothing about your kids until you choose. For each kid and each group you pick Private, Registered (camps you've marked registered) or All saved (registered plus the ones you're considering). Members see kids' first names and emoji, the camp and the dates, and each family as a first name and last initial, like "Sarah L.". Never times, addresses, ages, schools or health information.
Why 40 families?
Groups are sized for a class, team or den, where parents know each other. A school can run one group per class. The 40-family limit keeps every group a place where you recognize the names.
What if the link gets forwarded?
Organizers see every family in the group. They get an email right away when a family asks to join, and families who join directly show up in a daily summary email. To check everyone before they see anything, turn on approval. Organizers can remove a family (who then can't rejoin with the link unless an organizer lets them back in), turn the link off, or reset it so the old link stops working. Links last 30 days and can be renewed.
How is a group different from friends?
Friends is one family at a time: a private invite link for each family, and their kids show up on your calendar and on camp cards as you browse. A group is one link for a whole class or team, with a shared board of where everyone's going, a line on each camp page and camp card, and its families on your planner when your camps line up. Your settings for friends and for each group are separate.