https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/first-contact-end-contract
From First Contact to End of ContractWe know that staff can be a challenge to find, attract, hire, engage, and retain. What makes the staff journey result in forward progress from start to completion of their camp experience? Current...
https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/preventing-burnout-caring-your-staffs-mental-health-while-camp-session
Preventing Burnout: Caring for Your Staff’s Mental Health while Camp Is in SessionA camp job is hard work. Camp is so worth it, as evidenced by all the positive outcomes research has shown campers achieve. But that does not make the job any easier — especially for the teenagers...
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...
https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/becoming-part-new-normal
Becoming Part of the New Normal2020. Shall we say 2020 was a year to remember or one to forget? Camps across the country are even still trying to decide as leadership teams dig deeply to identify how they can shield their...
https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/staff-culture-skipping-season-without-skipping-beat
Staff Culture: Skipping a Season without Skipping a BeatSummer 2020 impacted every aspect of camp, and regardless of how things played out — with various scenarios of camp running in some form or not at all — building next summer’s staff team weighs...
https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/posterity-using-time-capsules-capture-camp
For Posterity: Using Time Capsules to Capture CampIt was the spring of 2016 when I received a call from the current director of Many Point Camp in Minnesota. Having been the director of Many Point for 25 years, I was used to a call inviting me to...
https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/going-green-camp
Going Green at CampWhat if every camp in America united behind a new model for sustainability to lead a national movement for pro-environmental change? “Going Green” is a vague and intimidating term. We all know we...
https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/safe-sanitary-water
Safe, Sanitary WaterIt's been years since we talked about potable water systems in Building Principles, and with opening camp just around the corner, this seems like an ideal time to revisit some of the key points that...
https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/meet-staff-where-they-are-not-where-you-wish-them-be
Meet Staff Where They Are — Not Where You Wish Them to BeUnanswered 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...