Camp Connection

Here are the most recent blog posts for staff, professionals, and the public. 

 

CA CEO Tom Holland with Christy Goldfuss, White House Council on Environmental Quality and Jonathan B. Jarvis, Director of the National Park Service
Are We Making Progress Toward More People Understanding and Supporting the Value of the Camp Experience?
April 19, 2016

It’s National Park Week and National Environmental Education Week (NEEW) — why should the camp movement take notice?  Sure, they are both nice events. All National Parks have free admission this week. NEEW celebrates environmental learning... Read More

Mentorship
February 2, 2016

A guest blog by Sterling Nell Leija

When I was a kid, I remember wanting to go to summer camp.  Like many of your campers, I counted down the days!  But I couldn’t honestly tell you I loved it.  I was nervous in the days leading up to it... Read More

howling wolf
Is ACA Like the Boy Who Cried "Wolf?" — Child Protection Improvements Act
January 19, 2016

Last month, the American Camp Association’s new CEO, Tom Holland called the camp community to action to advocate for the passage of the Child Protection Improvements Act ― our bill to address access to background checks. Most likely, it was a... Read More

Camp staff sitting and talking to each other
National Mentoring Month — A Guest Blog
January 12, 2016

In many ways summer camp is synonymous with mentoring. It’s what counselors do. But what I have learned in my young career is that it doesn’t stop there. I was a 17-year-old counselor at North Star when for the first time I was called into Robert... Read More

Instilling MESH'ages Marginalizes Toxic Stress at Camp
December 8, 2015

As the Healthy Camp Education and Monitoring Program (HCEMP) committee studies MESH and its implications, I was interested to see some foundational work in this area. In reading, I learned about the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) study done... Read More

Thankfulness: A Blog from Tom Holland
November 23, 2015

To work as a camp professional is not having a ‘thankless job;’ we live thankfulness on a daily basis.

That is why we love camp.

We model thanksgiving in our programs. We outwardly express appreciation for the work of those around... Read More

Girls watching sunset
Once a Girl Scout, Always a Girl Scout
October 31, 2015

“When one thinks of the 31st of October,” Juliette Low wrote in 1923, “one associates the day with Halloween when imps and witches fly about…On that night, I made my appearance in the world. Little did I dream when I was young and tried Halloween... Read More

boys bullying girl
Defining Bullying - National Bullying Awareness Month
October 27, 2015

While October is National Bullying Awareness Month, what can we do as a camp community to bring awareness year round? 

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