https://www.acacamps.org/blog/mental-emotional-social-health-situations-camp

Linda Ebner Erceg, RN, MS, PHN, shares some mental, emotional, and social health (MESH) situations that may occur at camp and how to respond appropriately.

https://www.acacamps.org/blog/nellies-gift-story-trauma-informed-care

Nellie was a conundrum. She didn’t smile very readily and preferred hanging out at the edge of camper groups. She didn’t initiate conversation either; she generally waited until someone approached...

https://www.acacamps.org/blog/talk-set-success

Like many camps that are hiring college-aged staff to work during the summer, over the past few years I have noticed an increase in staff that are being treated for (or have recently been treated for...

https://www.acacamps.org/blog/choosing-camp-dont-forget-data

Hello camp parents! My name is Laurie, and I recently joined ACA as the Director of Research. In this role, I facilitate Research 360, which is ACA’s new...

https://www.acacamps.org/blog/noticeable-impact-camp-kids

Hi parents!  My name is Deidre Pettinga and I’m the Chief Marketing Officer for the American Camp Association (ACA).  In this role, I work with our communications, business development, and...

https://www.acacamps.org/blog/what-greater-gift-gift-camp

Let me introduce myself. My name is Harriet Lowe and I’ve worked for the American Camp Association (ACA) for almost 16 years—first as the director of communications and now in a part-time role as...

https://www.acacamps.org/blog/most-important-question-you-can-ask-alumni-staff-applicant

We love having alumni apply to work for our program. Following their years of participation as campers, we ask them to step away for a year or two before they can reengage as a staff member. We...

https://www.acacamps.org/blog/campwire-episode-39-mindfulness-practices-camp

ACA's Professional Development Manager of the Western Region, John Beitner, sits down with Susan Fee and Tanea Mills to discuss how mindfulness practices can enhance the camp experience. 

https://www.acacamps.org/blog/university-camps-navigating-virtual-programming-minors-lessons-learned

Let’s begin by stating the obvious: 2020 was hard! While it was not the path any of us chose, it was the path presented to us, and we had to adapt. Some programs made the difficult decision...

https://www.acacamps.org/blog/how-manage-camp-staff-fatigue

Fatigue at camp is like inclement weather at camp. You’re going to have it at some point, but if you spot it before it happens, you can take steps to be prepared for it and reduce the impact it has...