https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/growth-through-play

About a year and a half ago, as I was nearing the completion of my college degree, I faced the reality of beginning my true adult life and was largely overwhelmed by the idea of it all. I surfed...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/innovation-work-2024-eleanor-p-eells-award-winners

Each 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/bodies-beliefs-bias-why-respect-human-rights-unnatural

My mother crochets. Over tea in restaurants. In line at the airport. At the movies. If you can breathe there, my mom can crochet there. She crochets for friends, family, and perfect strangers....

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/inflection-points-why-character-counts

Inflection points refer to everything from mathematical equations to management advice. But, equally, if not more, compelling is an application of the concept to the growth trajectory of youth....

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/imagine-child-tree-fertilize-unstructured-outdoor-play-character-development

Ask anyone who has attended a camp as a child or youth about his or her experiences and you will receive many different responses. Camp has many meanings because of the personal nature of the...

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/article/camping-magazine/continuous-improvement-program-quality-lessons-learned-part-two

As established in the first “Lessons Learned” article (...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/top-25-staffing-solutions-gathered-through-collaboration

Highlighted here is a curated collection of great ideas about how to recruit and retain staff — a direct result of the last two years of conferences and various collaborative brainstorming sessions...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/camp-pride

Growing up in the 1980s and ’90s, something I looked forward to every year was attending summer camp. After spending winters mostly indoors, the perfect reprieve from school was getting the...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/continuous-improvement-program-quality-lessons-learned

Program 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...