https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/project-real-job-moving-forward-together

In the early ’80s, I graduated from high school and made a simple but life-changing decision. It was May and I hadn’t yet made plans for the summer. My mom encouraged me to call my former camp...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/yes-only-means-yes-until-something-better-comes-along-making-camp-best-offer-gen-z-staff

Staff sign a contract, then inform you the week before camp begins that they won’t be coming after all. Or staff commit to working the entire season only to tell (not ask!) you they are leaving for...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/meeting-minds-camp-directors-higher-ed-college-students

Camps need staff to run their programs; colleges/universities have various requirements for students regarding coursework and internships; and students are usually pulled between what they want to do...

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

At a recent gathering, a group of camp professionals were talking about stress. They mentioned how it seemed fairly pervasive among campers and staff, sometimes at debilitating levels. Then they said...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/mind-part-ii-what-staff-need-know-about-their-own-mental-health

Think, for a minute, about the adults to whom you were most strongly attached as a child. Can you see their faces and remember how they treated you? Perhaps you see parents, teachers, coaches, clergy...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/childrens-mental-health-camp-what-our-role

Few children's issues have drawn more attention, or been more controversial, than those involving their mental health. For example, in the past twenty years, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/expand-your-mesh-capacity-summer-begins

Consider these scenarios: A parent calls: “My child has ADD and takes medication for depression. Can she come to camp?” A counselor dashes into your office: “We need you at Cabin 5. A camper...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/mind-part-1-what-directors-need-know-about-staff-mental-health

Hiring young adults to care for other people’s children seems like folly, from a neurodevelopmental perspective. Nobody’s brain is fully developed, many activities are dangerous, the weather can be...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/what-now-understanding-supporting-campers-mental-health-issues

What's Going On? Are you finding youth more complicated and challenging to work with? Did you know that today one in five youth ages ten to twenty-four years is diagnosed with a defined mental...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/when-staff-mesh-impacts-camp

Everyone has a mental, emotional, social health (MESH) profile. For most of us, our MESH profile is within a “normal” range. Some days are better than others. Some things push our buttons, others don...