A camp built around letting kids be themselves.
Shine On is a co-ed day camp for children entering Pre-K through 7th grade, serving families across the Northshore suburbs.
Why we started Shine On Day Camp
Growing up as camp lovers, we know firsthand the impact that camp can have on a kid. Now more than ever, we feel that camp is extremely important in a kid's life.
Camp has done incredible things in our own lives as campers, staff, and administrators. For years, we dreamt of working in camping together.
We believe camp teaches kids skills in a wide variety of activities and helps them grow up along the way. All of this should happen in a place where kids feel safe to try new things and make new friends.
This is the camp that we are building. Active, creative, and welcoming to every camper.
Love, Nate Scheck & David Gichner
Six ideas guide everything we plan.
Kids shine in different ways. We make space for each camper to show who they are.
Sports, games and creative activities share the schedule, so every day has variety.
We build programming with imagination, from our weekly surprises to our theme days.
Every part of the day is planned and led by our staff. Campers always know what comes next, so camp never turns into a free-for-all.
Every activity has a purpose. We plan each part of the day with care, so campers learn and grow while they play.
Campers learn to cheer for each other and become team players. Kindness is the guiding principle we want to help instill in every camper.
Meet our camp leadership
Nate Scheck has been working with and running youth sports and camp programming since 2011. He is a certified elementary school educator and formerly taught 3rd grade at Solomon Schechter Day School.
He has now turned his full-time attention to Shine On Sports, a youth sports program for girls in the northern suburbs. His programs are known for their spirited energy and positivity. Kids come in excited to be there, feel comfortable, and leave feeling great about themselves. He and his coaches have created a place filled with kindness, where everyone is included and feels like part of the team.
Nate has also spent 11 years at Camp Horseshoe, the last six as an Assistant Director. There he has worked with boys of all ages, led a variety of programming, and helped lead the staff. What camp does for a child cannot be replaced. That power is the reason he has stayed in the field and made it part of his everyday life.
At Shine On Day Camp, Nate will focus on programming and work directly with campers and staff. He will also be the main point of contact for parents about their children and their camp experience.
David Gichner has been working in camp and youth programming since 2015. A Chicago native, he has spent 11 years at Camp Horseshoe. The last five were on staff, where he worked his way up to the administrative level. Most recently, he served as Program Director, leading staffing and recruitment to build the team that made camp run, as well as scheduling all the fun throughout the week.
Since 2020, David has partnered with Nate Scheck to run mini camps, day-off camps, youth sports programs, and birthday parties. Together they have built programs that families come back to year after year.
David is also a professional magician and the owner of David Gichner Magic, performing interactive shows for audiences of all ages. He runs Zounds! Entertainment, a Chicago-based DJ entertainment company, and Chicagoland Events, which provides event rentals and photo booths for parties and celebrations across the area. With a background in entertaining and years of planning events big and small, he knows how to bring energy to a room and make every child feel part of the fun.
What camp does for a child cannot be replaced. That belief is why David has made it a permanent part of his life.
At Shine On Day Camp, David will focus on the operations side of camp: staffing, scheduling, and the logistics that keep each day running smoothly. That way, campers and families get a great experience from the moment they register.
Counselors are the heartbeat of camp.
As many of you know, Shine On has always prided itself on having strong coaches. Our summer camp counselors will take that to another level. We believe counselors are the heartbeat of every camp, and that starts with being kind, engaging, and welcoming.
Before the first day of camp, every staff member goes through an intensive five-day training, so campers always have staff who will be there for them, no matter their specific needs. We are so confident in the staff we are hiring that we have already hired multiple counselors.
The physical and emotional safety of every camper is paramount, above all else.
Staff receive hands-on training in how to work with kids and develop their own leadership.
We hire staff for each program area, from sport specialists to performers and artists.
Staff are the first to arrive at camp in the morning and the last to leave after every camper is picked up.
Staff have weekly check-ins with the leadership team, so they keep getting better for your children.
At the end of the day, camp is meant to be FUN! Our staff bring the goofy songs, silly games and big energy that make campers excited to come back every morning.