Conceptual Steps
Often, new camp leaders, either counselors or unit leaders, are discouraged when the go to their supervisor for approval of an activity, and they feel "unsupported" when the supervisor has a slew of
High Adventure
Are hiking, camping and wilderness activities worth the investment for a camp business owner? When you consider all the moves it takes to build a high-quality activity for your campers and the risk that needs to
Riding the Wind
It's almost a cliché to quote Bob Dylan's song, Blowin' in the Wind. In fact, it is a cliché. But so what? The answer -- at least one of the answers for your waterfront program -- could really be Blowin' in the Wind.
The Nature of Fun
We've all heard the shocking statistics about the rise in childhood obesity caused by inactivity and too many snacks. Communing with nature is an ideal way to get kids moving instead of staring at a video screen.
Great Fall Giveaway Winners Announced
Parks & Rec Business and Camp Business magazines are proud to announce the winners of the inaugural Great Fall Giveaway!
The Right Site
Whether you're looking at your current site to make some improvements, or evaluating a piece of property for use as a new camp, or maybe more likely visiting someone else's camp to get some new ideas, few
Me a Mentor?
"I was the only one…I felt all alone…Not a single person said hi to me..." These are all words that we, as camp directors, hope we never hear come out of the mouths of our campers or staff as they reflect upon their
Kids & Obesity
The topic of nutrition has been appearing more frequently around the state of Texas, where I live and work, over the past year. Though Texas is unique in many ways, it is not unique in nutritional trends, and our
Day to Day
Sara Perna does the little things every day to give the kids in her care that something special that only camp can deliver. Fort Meigs YMCA Day Camp serves the Perrysburg/Toledo, Ohio, area, and sees a
Facility Homework
So you you're going to build a new facility for your camp business and you think that the next step is to contact an architect...
Totally Tubular
You might say that Jeff Walden is a 21st Century Renaissance man, at least in the hybrid world of day camp instruction and the best sports ever created -- surfing and skiing.
Fear Detergent
SOAP (Strategies to Overcoming Aquatic Phobias) and Water is for those afraid to go near or in water. It offers dry-land counseling and teaches strategies to overcome aquatic phobias for all ages in a
Traditional Programs
At YMCA Camp Kern, I believe, the success of our camp is directly tied to how aggressively and effectively we network. I think of networking in two ways:
Holistic Branding & Technology
Holistic branding… It's more than just a New Age term. It's a big picture view of your camp's marketing, a way of making sure that all the parts of your marketing work together.
Digital Foundation
Whether or not you have the resources to purchase the highest end of the technology scale, there are steps you can take to ensure a solid network backbone that helps alleviate and soften the blow of the
Craft Potpourri
Spend any time around kids at camp and you'll notice some… well… smells. There's the smell of pancakes in the morning and smoke around the campfire. Let's not forget the smell of a camper's suitcase where he
Customer Connection--The Human Touch
When talking about customer service we are definitely getting into a good news/bad news kind of situation. The bad news: Levels of customer satisfaction with service in so many industries have dropped
Planning The Plan
In working with camps across the country, I hear one dream as much as any other…“We need to do a master plan.” In most cases, they have what was labeled as a strategic plan or master plan collecting dust
What's in a Name
I was 12 years old the summer of 1980. It was my fourth year at Phantom Lake YMCA Camp in Mukwonago, Wis., and for the first time I had finally moved from the younger Indian and Western units to the large