From the Counselor
Wiping the sweat from my brow after a long hard day, I looked at the smile on my camper's face and knew this was going to be one of the best summers of my life. In fact, it was the best summer of my life!
S.O.S. for Camp Directors
Camp Manager Check List:
Decide on the type of training specific to your camp population.
Offer the course before camp begins for optimal retention of procedures.
Tragedy and Healing
At about 9 a.m. on August 4, 2004, the State of New Hampshire's Disaster Behavioral Health Coordinator received a call stating that on August 3 there had been a tragic death of a 13-year-old camper at Camp
Fasten Your Seatbelts
When an airplane takes off, many people think their flight has just begun. Those who toil behind the scenes in aviation know differently, thanks to the endless hours of aircraft maintenance, cleaning, ordering
Understanding The Recruitment Pool For Staff Members
Understanding today’s college students can help camps when recruiting staff members for the upcoming season. In the past, the typical college student recruit was 18 to 21 years of age, attended school full-time,
Building Diversity In Camp Staff
To build diversity in camp staff, consider taking a two-pronged approach: 1. Invest in cultural-competence staff training. 2. Assign staff members to explore and engage with communities that don’t look like yours.
What's In Store
Wouldn't you like to put any worries that you might have about next season's camp enrollment in your rearview mirror? Making your camp "the" place where campers want to be can be easily achieved if you
Developing Details
As a 14-year-old camper at Phantom Lake YMCA Camp (Mukwonago, Wis.) back in 1982, I can still remember how badly I wanted to be one of the older campers who were part of the camp's Staff
Flow & Tell
There's a lot of talk in business about "creating ownership". In our case, that means giving our parents and campers a sense of ownership through their involvement and assistance with camp operations and
Out in Front
So the summer is coming to a close and all most people want to think about is well-deserved rest and relaxation... Heck, maybe even get to bed before 10 p.m. for the first time in 12 weeks!
The Relationship of Relationships
Successful camp business owners understand the value of building a strong and loyal base of customers. Building positive relationships with campers, parents, vendors, and even the businesses in your local
Designing Your Marketing Budget
Knowing how much you are going to spend on marketing is important to the success of any program. That may sound very simple. But for many businesses, summer camps included, the idea of marketing at all,
The Tailor
Quick! Who signs 95 percent of your camp's registration applications? Mom. Who do you think makes the decision as to whether it's time for her child to go to camp, and which camp to go to? Right again. So
What for WiFi
Don't you just love all the technological acronyms floating around these days? It's almost like being in the army... "Hey, my PDA is AWOL!"
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
Staff Recruitment - Beyond the Resume
If you've never hired someone who didn't work out, or never had vacancies when summer started, then don't bother reading this. Still reading? Then you already know that finding enough staff, and more
It Was An Accident
It’s the beginning of camp season and everything is going great—staff members are trained, the campgrounds look and feel safe, and campers are happily exploring every program you have to offer. And
Touch Up The Marketing Messages
As parents look for that “perfect” summer camp, they scour websites and brochures to find one that helps their child have fun while gaining new skills. Often camps highlight the amazing ropes course, trail rides,