https://www.acacamps.org/article/parents/what-it-about-camp-friendships
What Is It about Camp Friendships?I see it at every major life event — weddings, graduations, baptisms, bar mitzvahs, any time family and friends gather to celebrate a significant milestone — that huge smile and even bigger hug when...
https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/time-our-lives-how-summer-camp-tames-transition-trouble
The Time of Our Lives: How Summer Camp Tames Transition TroubleIt is a common refrain that the college years best represent "the time of our lives," replete with newfound independence and denoting fulfillment of academic, social, emotional, and workforce...
https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/yes-only-means-yes-until-something-better-comes-along-making-camp-best-offer-gen-z-staff
Yes Only Means Yes Until Something Better Comes Along: Making Camp the Best Offer for Gen Z StaffStaff 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/project-real-job-moving-forward-together
Project Real Job — Moving Forward TogetherIn 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/meeting-minds-camp-directors-higher-ed-college-students
A Meeting of the Minds: Camp Directors, Higher Ed, and College StudentsCamps 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/signing-dotted-line-commitment-two-way-street
Signing on the Dotted Line: Commitment Is a Two-Way StreetCongratulations! You committed to working at camp this summer, and the director and/or team who hired you have been anticipating your arrival since you signed on the dotted line! It is completely...
https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/program-outcomes-resident-camp-youth-serious-illnesses-disabilities-life-challenges
Program Outcomes at a Resident Camp for Youth with Serious Illnesses, Disabilities, and Life ChallengesIn 2005, the American Camp Association (ACA) published the first large-scale national research project assessing the youth development outcomes of children who attend day and resident camps in the...
https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/why-do-young-people-work-special-needs-camps
Why Do Young People Work at 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
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/evolution-dietary-guidelines
The Evolution of Dietary GuidelinesIf we were to prepare the most scientifically healthy diet daily for our campers, what would that look like? It seems that what is considered a "healthy diet" has changed so many times over the years...