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https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/innovation-work-2024-eleanor-p-eells-award-winners
Innovation at Work: 2024 Eleanor P. Eells Award WinnersEach year, ACA’s Eleanor P. Eells Award for Program Excellence honors camps that embody the spirit of the award’s namesake through their efforts to provide exceptional programming that effectively...
https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/new-geographic-demographic-day-camps-hiring-staff-outside-your-area-code
The New Geographic Demographic for Day Camps: Hiring Staff Outside Your Area CodeIf 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/decoding-camper-behavior
Decoding Camper BehaviorMany years ago, before social media, electric cars, and the smartphone, a little boy went to camp. He had overcome tremendous hurdles before ever stepping foot on a campground. In fact, at the...
https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/continuous-improvement-program-quality-lessons-learned-part-two
Continuous Improvement and Program Quality: Lessons Learned, Part TwoAs established in the first “Lessons Learned” article (...
https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/continuous-improvement-program-quality-lessons-learned
Continuous Improvement and Program Quality: Lessons LearnedProgram quality (PQ) is essential to youth programs, and research shows that high-quality programs are directly linked to more positive outcomes. PQ refers to the environment that is created at...
https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/continuous-quality-improvement
Continuous Quality ImprovementIn my decades-long career as a camp professional and outdoor educator, one of my favorite parts has been problem-solving. How can I, in whatever role I find myself, help make the camper experience...
https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/lost-boys-finding-their-way-summer-camp
Lost Boys: Finding Their Way at Summer CampAre boys in crisis? Popular literature (Raising Cain, Lost Boys, Boys and Sex) and theater (Dear Evan Hansen) seem to suggest so. Terms such as “boy code” and “toxic masculinity” further paint a path...
https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/horses-wilderness-meeting-needs-youth-risk
Horses and the Wilderness: Meeting the Needs of Youth at RiskThe 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/games-activities-strengthen-positive-mental-health
Games and Activities That Strengthen Positive Mental Health“Remember this — every member of your staff and every camper in your program has been through a traumatic experience!” One of my absolute favorite ACA National Conference moments came a few years...
https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/whats-wrong-song-we-love-it-have-been-singing-it-forever
What’s Wrong with This Song? We Love It and Have Been Singing It Forever!Here you are, catching up, maybe relaxing now that camp is over. You’re reflecting on the joy of having experienced another successful season; the sadness of saying goodbye to...