Hello Everyone - We, Aneesh Chatrathi and Shreyas Muthyala, would personally like to introduce ourselves as your 2021 Directors of Jacksonville Hindu Day Camp. Jacksonville Hindu Day Camp is a two week long day camp that explores the various themes and cultural aspects of Hinduism, while also allowing campers to make lasting connections.

This year, the JHDC Camp First Session will be held  July 5th-9th and July 12th-16th, and the Second Session will be held July 19th-23rd and July 26th-30th.

Typically the  in-person camp is run on a day to day basis, the first half of the day we focus on the more traditional aspects of Hinduism, implemented through our morning puja, Sanskrit classes, and philosophy lessons. Every year we choose a theme, and this year, our theme will be the Tridevi. This theme will be incorporated throughout the camp, but will mostly be implemented through the philosophy lessons, as we will instill core Hindu values through stories surrounding the theme. Following Lunch, we begin more of the fun activities such as Clubs and our special activity. The Club that a camper participates in will be decided on the answers given in the application; each camper has a choice of arts and Crafts, Dance, Drama, Career, or Yoga, and our older campers (grades 9th and 10th) will be in C.I.T, or counselor in training.

In addition, rising 11th and 12th graders are eligible to apply to be Camp Counselors.

The special activity of the day is different per day and aims to focus on a certain Hindu holiday or celebration (Holi, Diwali, Raakhi), or a day related to the theme (Rangoli, India Day).

The online camp will be run a little differently, as it may be a half-day instead of a whole day. The campers will log on at around 9:00 am, and the counselors and directors will lead them in a virtual pooja. Then, campers will be broken into smaller rooms where they will learn sanskrit and philosophy with a counselor in a small group setting. After a small break, campers will return to participate in their chosen Club, and then end the day off with a special activity.

There will be an information meeting about the camp on Sunday, May 30th, 2021 from 11AM -12 Noon, regarding the way the camp is run and daily schedule. 

For in-person camp (to be determined later in May) we will have an Adult Volunteer stationed while the camp is being run, and will also have a Doctor on call. This Year, we will be taking 95 campers for each session. These spots are First-Come, First serve. Although the deadline is May 15th, 2021, we reach capacity sooner, so you are encouraged to apply much before the deadline. If camp occurs online, there will be no limit to the number of campers.

Electronic copies of the application (both counselor and camper) are attached.

If you have any questions about the camper application please contact Aneesh Chatrathi at (904)-864-8134 and about the counselor application please contact Shreyas Muthyala at (904)-295-5325. For any other questions, you may call either one of us, or email us at [email protected]

Please send all pages of Signed, Completed Registration Form and Fee to:

            Attn: JHDC 2021 Registration
Hindu Society of Northeast Florida, Inc.

4968 Greenland Rd, Jacksonville, FL 32258

You may also drop off the camper application at the temple when it is open, there will be a box clearly marked for you to drop it off.

• Please note that the cost will increase if camp switches to an fully in-person format. We will communicate this and give you the option to pay the difference or options to cancel.

• If we switch to an Entirely In-Person Camp - Your application will be considered on a First Come, First Serve basis based on capacity and your Camp Format Selection above.

(For counselor Applications: do NOT mail your counselor app, please email it to us at [email protected])

We are so excited and are putting together a great structure and look forward to being together with you this Summer!

Aneesh Chatrathi and Shreyas Muthyala
Email: [email protected]
    (JHDC Hindu Camp Directors)