https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/improving-belonging-camp-moving-forward-together

“Because true belonging only happens when we present our authentic, imperfect selves to the world, our sense of belonging can never be greater than our level of self-acceptance.” -- Brene Brown...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/make-strategic-decisions-not-guesses

Enjoy one of camp’s sweetest sounds as you walk up on a dining hall or an evening campfire and hear a chorus of voices singing a favorite camp song — 100 campers, 250 campers, 500 campers — can you...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/embracing-jedi-strategy-vital-integration-organizational-success

For far too long, justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) efforts have been pushed to the sidelines, often treated as separate initiatives rather than an essential strategy embedded into the...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/fumble-or-fiasco-ensuring-leaders-staff-campers-learn-failure

We need to fail before we achieve success. In our personal and professional lives, we generally try to succeed, which is perfectly sensible. To reach our potential, however, we must stop fearing...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/air-quality-camp-environment

Severe weather events and changing climate are contributing to many challenges for summer camps. The summer of 2023 presented new obstacles for traditional outdoor camp activities due to an onslaught...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/fema-nonprofit-security-grant-program

In 2023, an overnight camp in the Northeast received $150,000 to upgrade its security. These funds allowed the camp to replace fences, add a security exit gate, and install protective window coating...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/interrupting-biases

"Excuse me," the camp director interrupted, "I just need you to tell us how to respond when a camper or counselor uses a slur like that."  We were in the midst of debriefing a series of...

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/foster-feeling-cross-generational-divide

As leaders interacting with the next generation we have a choice. We can spin our wheels trying to understand why they aren’t where we are, where we believe they “should be,” or we can consider the...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/lets-play-nicely-eight-tips-creating-safe-spaces-camp

For generations, a camp director’s focus on safety meant protecting campers from physical harm. In today’s reality that is still a necessity though insufficient. Safe space at camp has now evolved...