https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/it-over-yet

The year 2020 was one of adversity. It was a year of dramatic change and tremendous loss for many. Loss of loved ones. Loss of income. Loss of business. Loss of treasured life experiences —...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/staff-culture-skipping-season-without-skipping-beat

Summer 2020 impacted every aspect of camp, and regardless of how things played out — with various scenarios of camp running in some form or not at all — building next summer’s staff team weighs...

https://www.acacamps.org/news/news/aca-policy-update-all-person-events

ACA is committed to providing opportunities to engage in the safest and most enjoyable in-person experience possible. To achieve this, we are focused on a multilayered approach to mitigating COVID-19...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/why-do-young-people-work-special-needs-camps

When I first met Ed, I did not notice that he had no legs. He sat straight up in a wheelchair with long pants that hung down over the edge. I did not, at the time, find the absence of shoes or...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/horses-wilderness-meeting-needs-youth-risk

The staff at Kamp Kessa, an adventure education and treatment program utilizing horses and the wilderness for youth who are considered at-risk and who have special needs in Frankfort, Kentucky, are...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/enrollment-risky-business

Risk comes in many forms, some of which we spend more time considering and mitigating than others. On the “yeah, obviously” side of the ledger: we don’t allow campers on the ropes course without...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/posterity-using-time-capsules-capture-camp

It was the spring of 2016 when I received a call from the current director of Many Point Camp in Minnesota. Having been the director of Many Point for 25 years, I was used to a call inviting me to...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/covid-19-decision-making-amid-uncertainty

It’s a pandemic. No one knows enough. They say it may last 12–18 months. Maybe longer. Information changes day-to-day. Sometimes more frequently. There’s a pediatric complication that wasn’t...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/retreat-conundrum-there-pot-gold

The last year and a half have seen many organizations stretching, shifting, and praying for the financial wherewithal to keep operating into the future. This may have also included discussing how to...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/rethinking-risk-how-build-resiliency-reward

So much of a camp director’s time is oriented toward risk reduction. From hiring lifeguards to teaching CPR, the number-one priority is “keeping kids safe,” followed by fun and learning in form or...