Less than two months from today, my sixteenth summer at North Star Camp will begin. I’m excited to pack up my bags, leave my apartment in Chicago, and spend the summer in the Northwoods of Wisconsin at my home away from home. You may be in a similar boat: this may be your third, seventh, fifteenth, twenty-seventh, or maybe even forty-first summer at your camp. You spend the other ten months of the year counting down to the two months at camp that is the highlight of your year. However, this post isn’t about you or me. We know what to expect at camp because it’s not our first rodeo.

As technology and social media grow, there is a seemingly endless array of platforms available to us to stay in touch with people. Because of this, you think that it would be easier than ever to connect with our camp communities, whether that is parents, campers, or staff. However, the reality can feel very different, and choosing the most effective method of communication has become an increasingly more challenging task. Let’s face it — no one likes being ghosted, especially when you need an answer quickly! 

Are you worried about staffing shortages and how many international staff you can hire? Have you heard potential staff say, “Thanks for the offer, but I need an internship”? Creating a field experience manual to attract and hire interns for camp jobs is a great answer for both concerns.

This blog post is the second in a two-part series about staff culture.

Keeping staff engaged is an age-old challenge that begs for a new twist given our current times and circumstances. The Summer Camp Innovation Network organized a space for innovation by connecting 18- to 22-year-old university students with camp professionals to create synergy around engagement of staff. Daniel Shore and Kim Aycock challenged the teams to create an idea that motivates staff to engage between summers. 

This blog post in support of Project Real Job offers advice on how to help first-year staff members ease into camp life.

Take lessons learned from this past summer and incorporate them into your plan for next summer.

Now is a great time to develop a plan for inviting staff back and securing their commitment, offering leadership roles and opportunities to advance, and keeping staff engaged in the time between now and next summer.