BreakawayKids is our elementary-aged summer program for those students coming out of 2nd grade (must be at least 8 years of age as of January 1st) through coming out of 6th grade. Registration to open early March.
Sign up: All Coordinators will sign up on on our website to let us know who you are. This is very important as we will need a point of contact for your church to send updated reports, etc throughout the registration process. You will also want to download and review your Coordinator Packet (coming soon).
Payment: You will be responsible for submitting payment to the ISM office for your students. Please use a Financial Breakdown Form (coming soon) each time you submit a payment to ensure proper disbursement of monies sent. Initial deposit ($100/student plus any extras such as t-shirts or high ropes) to secure registrations is to be postmarked by May 15 for Breakaway Kids Programs or June 15 for Breakaway Teen Programs.
Reports: (COMING SOON) These will be uploaded to Dropbox and you will be given a link to access them. They will be updated twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays (You may contact the office if you need an updated copy in between postings).
Group Housing: All students will be housed before arriving on the grounds. The church coordinator is responsible for getting this information to us via the Group Housing Form (there are separate housing forms for Breakaway and Breakaway Kids - forms coming soon). If you have any housing requests, please let your church know.
***PLEASE NOTE*** Due to the large number of attendees at Breakaway, each church is required to provide a counselor for every room of 5 students (of the same gender). ISM cannot guarantee lodging for any groups who fail to send the appropriate number of counselors or contact the ISM office with enough lead time to help you come up with a housing solution. For groups sending 5 or less students, they will be placed in a room with leaders from another church, if you are unable to provide one.
Check-in/Check-out: Registration Check-in begins the Monday of each week and is open from 10am to 2pm in the Activities Center. Any group checking in after 2:00pm will need to go to the Admin office in the Clark Room of the Auditorium building. Please eat before arriving or bring $6.00 per person for lunch in the Lake Williamson Dining Hall available from 11:30am to 1:30pm. The first meal served at the Breakaway Program will be dinner Monday evening. All Breakaway Programs will conclude with a closing service at 10:00 am on Friday. All cabins will be cleaned out prior to this service.
Available for purchase for $12+ (depending on size) through the online registration portal up to May 22nd (for Breakaway Kids) or June 19th (for Breakaway). If we have extras, they will be available in the merch store for $18 during the event.
A registration is not considered completed until the $100 (students/counselor assists) and/or $55 (counselors/support staff) deposits have been secured (parents, please remit payment to your church, you will not pay ISM directly). This deposit MUST include payment for t-shirt and high ropes course add-ons. Breakaway Kids initial deposit should be postmarked by May 15 and Breakaway Teen deposits should be postmarked by June 15. Deposits, t-shirt and high ropes fees are non-refundable and will be forfeited in the event a person chooses not to attend the program they have registered for. Registration must be PAID IN FULL on or before the first day of your enrolled program. No deposits will be accepted without the students(s) application submitted. Payments should be made to your church and they will forward to us.
Refunds for students who are unable to attend must be requested with an official Refund Request Form which can be obtained through our office. It is desired that monies are transferred to another student with a balance from your group first. If there is no one to transfer funds too then a Refund will be submitted for approval less the $100 non-refundable deposit, t-shirt fee and high ropes fee. Refunds will not be issued for those who simply choose not to attend after their registered week registration is closed, as they have taken a spot where another person may have potentially been turned away. Refunds will NOT be processed until the END of Breakaway season. We cannot refund money for a partial week of a Breakaway Program or if a student has been expelled.
Registration:
You will register online via the same registration portal that the students use. You will submit a photo for your identification lanyard that must be worn at all times for security purposes. A pastoral and personal reference is required to be submitted by May 15th (for Breakaway Kids) or June 15th (for Breakaway Teen). The fee for counselors & support staff is $55 and is nonrefundable. All volunteers must register to be allowed on the grounds. This includes but is not limited to administrative staff, counselors, special guests, support staff and interns. All volunteers must consent to a national background check to be kept on file with ISM. Support staff and extra counselors will be selected based upon the needs of the program. No position is guaranteed.
Age Requirements:
To serve at Breakaway Kids, a support staff member must be 16 years of age and 18 years old to be a counselor. To serve at Breakaway Teen, a support staff member must be 18 years old and have graduated from High School. To be a counselor one must be at least 21 years of age.
Students arriving without a church group are considered an Individual. When submitting the online registration via the Campwise system, please select “No Church-Individual” from the dropdown menu on the first field of the Student Profile Section: “Church City/Church Name”. Please mail a check to the ISM office for your initial deposit/remaining balance. With all payments please include an “Individual Financial Breakdown Sheet” (coming soon).
All students will be housed before arriving on the grounds. Individuals that would like to be housed with a specific person/ group will be accommodated as space allows for requests made by May 15th (for Breakaway Kids) or June 15th (for Breakaway Teen). You may submit this request by calling/emailing the office or as a written request with the payment. We make no guarantees. Please contact the office no earlier than 1 week prior to your enrolled program week if you would like to receive your color team and rooming assignment.
Sleeping bag or sheets, blanket, pillow, towel, & toiletries, recreational clothes & tennis shoes, clothing appropriate for services, swimwear (no bikinis) & beach towel. Bible & journal, spending money for snacks & merch store and money for offering. Please label all items as students are responsible for personal belongings, ISM is not liable for lost or stolen items.
No weapons, tobacco, electronic devices, laptops, video games, silly string, water guns, water balloons, sidewalk paint, tape, or spray paint products (including colored hair spray) will be permitted.
A High Ropes course is available for students in 4th-12th grade for an additional fee. Not sure what High Ropes is all about? Click here for more information.
Students participating in any and all Illinois Student Ministries Summer Programs (Breakaway and Breakaway Kids) must be able to conduct themselves in a manner that does not disrupt the mission and objectives of the Breakaway program. The basic supervision ratio of a student to counselor is 5:1 for Breakaway and 5:2 for Breakaway Kids.
Students must be able to obey directions, follow accordingly, and obey rules for their own safety. In addition, Students must be able to handle themselves appropriately during activities such as free time, when general supervision is provided for the entire facility. (Students are not always specifically with their own Counselors. At times throughout the day, they are under general supervision).
The ISM would love to see every student attend our summer program; however, we have limitations due to our volunteer staff and financial considerations that confine us to our basic ratios of 5:1. Should a student require further assistance due to physical, mental or social disabilities, a student's guardian may choose the following alternate arrangement for their child, in coordination with your Church's Coordinator.
The alternate arrangement would be for the student's guardian to provide a personal chaperone (of the same gender as the child) that would be the student's “one-on-one” counselor, who would be able to provide assistance in the bathroom/showers if needed.
The guardian would be required to cover all the expenses for this one-on-one counselor, in addition to the child’s registration. The student and one-on-one assistant would be assigned a room with other students, but that one-on-one assistant would only be responsible for the specific child.
Each Breakaway Program has varying degrees of outdoor terrain that may create mobility challenges for physically impaired participants. Every reasonable accommodation will be offered based on the limited availability of staff. Guardians should consider this and make appropriate inquiries prior to registering a child for any of our Breakaway Programs.
For security purposes, the personal counselor would be required to complete an adult volunteer application provided by Illinois Student Ministries, which includes a background check.
All registrations will be done online. Early Bird Registration Deadline is 5/1/23 to secure the price of $229. Regular Registration Deadline is 5/8/23 to secure the price of $255. All registrations after 5/8/23 are $280. Counselor Rate is $55. Rooms with students in 2nd & 3rd grade require two counselors. Each of these counselors will pay $55. In all other grades churches may opt to have a One-on-one Counselor for students who may require individualized attention or Assistant Counselor at a rate of $155 with availability contingent on room vacancy. Deposits should be in the mail and postmarked no later than 7 days after the appropriate deadline. If your deposit is not received in a timely manner, your registration fee will be automatically increased to the fit the time frame of which your deposit is received.
No phone registrations, nor incomplete registrations will be accepted. All monies must be received by registration check-in on Monday for a student to attend. Online registration will be turned off 10 days before each week of Breakaway begins or once rooming has begun, but registration will still be available if capacity has not been met. Contact the ISM office or your church directly for application instructions at that time.
T-Shirts will be made available at an additional charge of $12 through registration. The deadline to add your t-shirt to your online registration is May 23, 2023. After that date t-shirts will be available at the Camp Store for $15 while supplies last.
