| ESF Camps | |
|---|---|
| Location | Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Maryland and Florida |
| Operated by | ESF Inc. |
| Established | 1982 |
Education, Sports and Fun Camps (ESF) is a network of summer day camps. ESF operates 60+ different camps at 12 ESF Camp locations in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Maryland and Florida. ESF is described by Philadelphia Magazine as the "gold standard of summer day camps."
History
ESF was founded by brothers Michael and Bill Rouse in 1982 as a two-week summer tennis camp at the Haverford School. Michael, who was 15 at the time, needed to raise $3,200 to play in the United States Tennis Association National Tournament.
In 2019, the Aspen Institute recognized ESF as a Project Play Champion at the institute's annual Project Play Summit.
Activities
In total, ESF has more than 60 different camps at their 10 locations. They offer traditional day camp options such as Mini Camp, Day Camp, and Senior Camp which offer options including art, music, science and sports. However, ESF also has specialty camp options including Tennis Camp, Specialty Major Camps, SportsLab powered by Under Armour and Tech Camps.
ESF works with many organizations including the Philadelphia Zoo, the Franklin Institute, Cirque du Soleil and The Walt Disney Company for their camp programming. They also work with many sports teams including the Philadelphia Phillies, Philadelphia 76ers, Arsenal F.C., and Brooklyn Nets to offer specialty sports experiences.
References
- "Attorney General's Office Flooded With Complaints About Main Line-Based ESF Camps". Philadelphia Magazine. Retrieved 2020-06-05.
- "How Michael Rouse's teen job made him a CEO". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 2020-06-05.
- "ESF Summer Camps move to New Location!". Greenwich Moms. Retrieved 2020-06-05.
- "How a teen's need for cash turned into a summer-camp empire". Seattle Times. 2 March 2017. Retrieved 2020-06-05.
- "ESF Camps on Facebook". Facebook. Archived from the original on 2022-04-27.