19-Year-Old College Student Founds Beach Camp Business

By Sarah Fertsch
Staff Writer

As you walk onto the New Haven Beach in Ventnor across from the library, you’ll find a large tent along the dunes. Dozens of kids are emerging from the structure and racing toward the ocean.

A pair of girls start building complex sandcastles and a group of boys initiate a game of dodgeball. Parents drop off more children, who sprint toward counselors with big smiles on their faces.

In 2020, at 17 years old, Ryan Orlov noticed a need in the market: a summer camp for kids open for the pandemic. He grew up attending camp and has a passion for kids and the beach. The Philadelphia native moved down to Ventnor and founded Schmoopy’s Beach Party, a half-day camp for kids between the ages of 5 and 15.

Why is it called Schmooy’s? The name of the camp is derived from the Goldbergs, a show about a Jewish family from Philadelphia. Orlov had a “smother” and he is her “schmoopy,” which makes for a playful camp name.

Orlov considers himself the “head activity director” and manages everything from getting permits from the city, working with parents, organizing fun and hiring camp counselors (Schmoopy’s boasts a four kids per counselor ratio).

Parents can choose between sending their child for select days, signing up for a week, or committing their child for the entire summer. According to Orlov, the camp oversees between 12 and 25 campers every day, and in early August, they expect to reach maximum capacity at 30 campers per day.

A typical day means that starting around 12:30 p.m., kids get oriented to their counselor and fellow campers and play games. Around 2, the group takes a “halftime break” and snack on ice cream, then kids can either pet dogs at “Pawparazzi” on Ventnor Ave, play on the playground, or explore the Ventnor library. Parents arrive to pick up their kids around 4:30 pm each day.

Sam Leveton, a 12-year-old from Margate, says he loves attending camp every day and making friends. He spends each camp day playing spikeball and boogie-boarding in the ocean. He says he recently came home from sleep-away camp and will be spending a couple days per week at Schmoopy’s until the school year begins. “I am having so much fun and I love camp,” Leveton said.

Stella Shoup, an 8-year-old from outside Philadelphia, says that her favorite parts of camp are playing in the sand and swimming in the ocean (only when the water is warm). She attended Schmoopy’s last year and was excited to come back this year. “To any kids who want to come to camp, it’s really fun and you make a lot of friends and play games,” said Shoup.

Embri Gould, a 9-year-old from Egg Harbor Township, loves camp but prides herself in having a “special job.” Her grandfather, a Ventnor ice cream man and partner of Schmoopy’s, delivers ice cream to the campers everyday. “I am the ice cream man’s assistant, meaning I hand out the wooden spoons,” said Gould.

Robert Lukasiewicz, Embri’s grandfather and the ice cream man, says that he is always inspired working with Orlov and Schmoopy’s. “This young man has shown so much integrity and leadership, and he creates a place for kids to have fun and be themselves. I am so proud to work with him.”

Every day at camp has a theme: DIY Monday, Tie-Dye Tuesday, Water Wednesday, Treasure Thursday, and Pie Day Friday. On Pie Day Fridays, Orlov squirts whipped cream onto paper plates and campers can “pie in the face” counselors. “The kids have the time of their lives, and it’s their reward at the end of the week,” said Orlov.

Kim Schrier, a mom from Florida, visits Ventnor almost every year with her two children: Asher, 11, and Aidan, 5. She found Schmoopy’s on Facebook and started sending her two kids in 2020 during the camp’s first year. “I am very impressed with Ryan, attending college and having so much ambition and maturity,” said Schrier. “I can relax on the beach and enjoy my week while I know my kids are having fun. I have worked with Ryan with finding babysitting and being flexible with pickup, and he has been so accommodating.”

On the weekends (camp runs Monday through Friday), Schmoopy’s hosts birthday parties for kids. Camp will run until August 12, and then Orlov will focus on starting the fall semester at Tulane University, studying entrepreneurship.

For more information on Schmoopy’s, visit their website at www.schmoopys.org.