Photos at camp Web site keep parents connected

E-mail this article Print this article Search archive Most read articles Most e-mailed articles

Jan Kane of Ballard can check in on her 15-year-old son, Levi, while he's at camp every couple of days, even though he's 1,000 miles away in Southern California.

She uses a password to view online pictures regularly posted by Catalina Island Camps on a Web site called www.Bunk1.com. While he's gone for a month, the photos — of Levi doing skits on stage, eating lunch, boating and rock climbing — help her feel connected and reassured that he's enjoying himself.

"I get to see him being in action," said Kane, who has never visited the camp. "This way, I'm able to peek in but not disturb him. I look to see if he's having fun by his expressions."

The site also allows parents to send one-way e-mails, but Kane prefers standard letters and postcards (campers have to use old-fashioned mail).

Viewing the online photos is free but the site charges a fee for printing the pictures. It also makes money by offering care packages, camp equipment and CD-ROM yearbooks. The New York-based Bunk1.com, started by a young entrepreneur who fondly remembered his camp experiences, works with about 2,000 camps internationally.

— Stephanie Dunnewind, Seattle Times staff reporter

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

E-mail this article

Print this article

Search archive

More living headlines...