https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/inclusive-camp-pathway-toward-friendship-between-campers-without-disabilities

In the summer of 2014, I was the association director of inclusion for the South Shore YMCA in Massachusetts, with oversight of the inclusive day camp sites. It was officially our first summer of...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/new-geographic-demographic-day-camps-hiring-staff-outside-your-area-code

If you’re responsible for hiring staff to work at day camp, you may be summing up today’s to-do list in one short phrase: Find more people! Far from being the second choice for those who don’t...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/building-referral-machine

Algorithms change and consultants retire, change jobs, or are absorbed by other concerns. Most of it is outside of your control and will at times leave you feeling like a ping-pong ball. The constant...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/inclusive-camp-making-summer-camp-joyful-place-everyone

Summer camp is a sacred community which, as a rule, has always been willing to find common ground in respecting and accommodating individual values and needs. The values and needs of campers with...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/commitment-how-do-we-earn-it-how-do-we-keep-it

An answer to this question of the century may seem counterintuitive, yet it is at the core of most camp communities: Relationships. More than ever, staff are looking for connection and belonging. So...

https://www.acacamps.org/events-education/online-learning/online-course/trauma-informed-care-camp

DESCRIPTION:  In ACA’s 2017 Emerging Issues Report, the top issue facing camps is campers’ Mental, Emotional, and Social Health (Browne, Bialeschki & Wilson, 2017)....

https://www.acacamps.org/events-education/online-learning/recorded-webinar/meet-staff-where-they-are-not-where-you-wish-they-would-be

Unanswered emails. Requests (demands) for time-off. Over-involved parents. What’s the matter with young people today? Most likely nothing! We have more in common with this cohort of staff than one...

https://www.acacamps.org/events-education/online-learning/recorded-webinar/avoiding-parent-trap-working-difficult-parents

Most camp parents are wonderful, but at every camp, there are a few who are some degree of difficult. From parents who demand special exceptions to parents who are wholly disengaged from their child'...

https://www.acacamps.org/events-education/online-learning/recorded-webinar/back-basics-creating-cohesive-staff-community

While this sounds so simple, why is it often so hard?  Community building is what camp is all about.  Yet, all of the ice-breakers and fun games in the world don’t guarantee that staff will...

https://www.acacamps.org/events-education/online-learning/recorded-webinar/celebration-difference-camp

Join us for a presentation on the benefits of celebrating differences in the camp bubble. Within any group of campers and staff comes a great deal of diversity and difference...