Visually Stunning Summer Camp Video: Camp Caribou (ME)

Travis Allison January 14, 2014

Wow! This camp video really captures the feel of Camp Caribou in Maine.

I can't resist: The video work is stunning. So well done.

S.T.A.N.D. Leadership - Do All Things with Integrity

Travis Allison January 10, 2014

Developing Integrity in Teen Leaders at Summer Camp

Our last morning session together began as all had, with the teens lining up outside in cabin groups and listening to the song of the day I had chosen. When they entered the lodge this time around, we had placed the long dining hall benches in a large circle in the centre of the room, enough benches so that every participant could stand on one in the circle. Behind each of the benches, I had placed construction paper sheets and big, colourful markers - enough for everyone.

As always, I frontloaded the morning in the courtyard, explaining that they were to enter in silence, gather behind the appropriate benches and sit in circle. I once again combined cabin groups up in yet another different pairing and had them sit down together and await instruction.

We discussed how great it would be if we could clearly see what people stood for the minute we met them. I posed the question, asking if people could tell what each of them stood for upon meeting them for the first time. After the appropriate pause to let that thought sink in, I asked each of the new groupings to discuss with one another what they stand for and why. At first, it took some time for them to get going but, with the help of the encouraging staff, they began to open up and share their ideas.

With fitting music playing in the background, I asked each person to then take 1 sheet of coloured construction paper and choose 1 word or short phrase to represent one of the most important things they stand for. I gave them a few minutes to think and complete the task and asked that they be respectful of others and do this entire part of the activity in silence.

As you may have noticed (and will further in my next instalment), music is a really important part of training sessions for me. I spend a lot of time researching and choosing songs that fit my themes. I find they are helpful in gathering, wrapping up, and in times when I ask for silence from the participants.

When everyone was ready, I asked them to stand upon a bench in the circle and hold their sheet in front of them with the word(s) facing them. Again, it was important that this be done without any talking. I frontloaded what would happen next. When a new song began to play, I had a staff member begin by turning over his page. The person on his left did the same and then all in turn until we had completed the circle and all the words were displayed. When the last person had revealed her sheet, that first staff member came down off the bench, placed his paper in the middle of the floor and returned to his place. Again the person to his left did the same until everyone had added their sheet to a colourful and meaningful quilt of paper that lay in the middle of the lodge floor. This entire exercise was done in silence with me using hand gestures and the music playing in the background. It was compelling to read what they had written.

My goal was to complete this exercise twice more. The second discussion was to be what they do not stand for, will not tolerate. I was going to ask them to once again to choose a word or short phrase to describe something they do not stand for, write it on a new sheet of construction paper and then circle the word(s) and put a diagonal line through it to show that it is a behaviour they will not permit or accept. We were to go through the whole experience again of revealing our sheets one person at a time standing upon the benches and then adding the new words to the quilt on the floor.

The third time, there was to be no discussion in small groups prior to writing on their last sheet. I was going to ask them to write down a word(s) which represents something they wish they had more courage to stand for and no one was to see what they had written. We were to repeat the entire circle activity one last time but, prior to turning over their pages, I was going to collect them all, mix them up, and then hand out a sheet to each person so that no one would know whose was whose. I was planning to tell them this in advance so that they would have felt confident to write what they truly felt.

I say “was going to” because I cut the session short and I’ll explain why shortly. I decided at that point to do the wrap up of the morning and finish early. I asked everyone to take a seat on the benches. Beside the quilt on the floor, I had placed 3 rings of webbing in a circle. Each one overlay the other slightly so that there was a point in the centre where all 3 overlapped. I drew their attention to them and explained that there are ways that we act and things that we do (I placed a sheet in one of the webbing circles with the words “do” and “act” on it), there are things that we think and say (again “think” and “say” were printed on a sheet and placed in the next webbing circle) and things that we “believe” and “feel” (a 3rd sheet in the last webbing). When all 3 of these overlap, we have integrity.

I placed a large banner over all three webbings which read integrity and we shared in a large group discussion about the importance of integrity - how it is defined, how it can be hard sometimes to live with integrity, and why it is so important that we try. I explained that if what we say and think, act and do, believe and feel are all in alignment, we can accomplish great things. I asked them to once again examine the quilt on the floor and explained that, in order for the words that they placed on their sheets to be how they blanketed every act, every statement, how they treated every person that they met, they must have integrity. I then took the banner and placed it across the middle of the quilt. I asked them to think of what amazing changes and differences they could make if their people and their places were cared for in this way.

At this time, one of the great moments of the week occurred. I reinforced that it can be very difficult to live each day with integrity of spirit and encouraged them to be strong but also to lean on others for support. I stated, “you do not have to do it alone”. As I had prearranged with the staff the day before, one counsellor then stood in the circle and said “I will stand with you”. Then another staff member stood and repeated the same phrase and then another and another until all the staff members were standing, united in belief that these teens could change the world. It was an incredibly powerful moment.

At that time, I shared that the camp’s L.I.T.s were participating in their graduation ceremony down in the chapel at that very moment and, because all of the staff were up in the lodge helping with S.T.A.N.D., no one representing camp was there to sit in the pews and support these young people who had spent the last 4 weeks working so terribly hard to become future counsellors. It didn’t seem right to me that we had spent the last week training these teen campers to be intentional leaders and were not present to celebrate and acknowledge those who had given up a month of their summer to do just that. All agreed!

So..in complete and utter silence (they had gotten really good at this with me this week!), the entire camp walked together down to the chapel and filled every nook and cranny of the space to be with the L.I.T.s, their directors, and the families of the graduates as they received their certificates and honoured their accomplishments. It meant a great deal to these members of the camp community and to their leaders and, in retrospect, to the teen campers as they not only saw the possibilities for themselves at camp but knew they had given something very special to some very deserving people.

Well, that takes us from S through D. So much happened in that week that I just can’t fit it all in 5 instalments so...there will be one more about this grand adventure. In it, I will share many of the special touches that were added throughout the week to round out the experience.

I must say that, as I sit down to write about these days, many months later, it makes me miss these campers and staff a great deal. It was a tremendous week and I will never forget the many moments, big and small, that we shared.

If you have any questions leave them in the comments section or email Beth.

A Visual "Hint" for Reaching New Parents

Travis Allison January 7, 2014

You Must Be Objective When

It's very difficult because you love camp, the people, the place and the work that you do. But we all know that if you want to move your total camp experience to consistent excellence, you must be willing to critically assess all aspects of your business.

During the New Year, I am going to ask you to focus on one element a month that will help you heighten your marketing and programmatic performance to increase retention and referrals. Are you ready for the challenge?

TAKE ACTION NOW!

Look at your brochure and website photos. Ignore the usually verbose, accompanying copy and focus on the visuals. What do they communicate to parents and moms especially? What do they say to kids? How do they tell the story of what you do at camp and how valuable the experience is for each camper? According to parents in focus groups, pictures of smiling, posing kids are a 'waste of space'. Moms want visuals into which they can place their kids and envision accomplishment, social connections and confidence. Check out the attached pics of Sammy and Jenna courtesy of YSSC and SHDC. These two photographs are consistently selected by parents who say they make the camp experience come alive through Sammy's pride of accomplishment and Jenna's total engagement. (For more, read the attached article by Gary Forster.)

Replace pics or make plans to get better ones. Identify your weakest visuals and at least on your website, swap them out with more resonating options. If you just don't have better ones now, plan for a professional photographer to be with you this summer in addition to activating talented staff to help capture the essence of your camp experience. If you are going to work with a professional, study their portfolio to confirm their ability to secure the type of visuals that you're seeking and arrange for options to rainy/cloudy days. Staff photographers need to have the time to focus on the task. They can't be expected to just snap pics as they do their other business. For both professionals and amateurs, have a game plan before the summer and review visuals on a regular basis to confirm that you have the quality and subject coverage that you want.

Do you need encouragement to go through this visual assessment? If so, realize that the photographs you select are what intrigues unaffiliated parents to give you a call or to continue their journey through your website.

Joanna

Want me to take a look at your visuals? Give me a call at 310-451-1876 or email campconsulting@verizon.net

(Note from Travis: We are so thrilled to be posting the always brilliant HINTS from camp consultant Joanna Warren Smith! If you don't already you should sign up to receive theses HINTS in your email - in the right-hand column of Joanna's website: http://camp-consulting.com/)

A 'HINT' of New Year's Resolution - Joanna Warren Smith

Travis Allison January 2, 2014

Start the Summer Camp New Year Out Right

Be intentional on January 2 and increase your retention rates.

TAKE ACTION NOW!

Run your cabin (group) lists from last year. Highlight all of those campers who ARE registered for 2014.
Identify the 'OMG' kids. Work with your leadership team to identify the campers you expected to be first in line to return and yet, they have not enrolled for the upcoming summer. Individually connect with each of those families and be very deliberate about getting them to register or determining their reason for hesitancy.
Look for trends. How many campers and camper weeks did you have at this time last year as compared to right now? If you are ahead or behind, determine the reasons and proactively respond to continue the positive momentum or reverse the negative trend. Is there a common complaint from the 'OMG' families? If even a few families verbalized an area of concern, you must take their input seriously and address the issues. Are there gender or age groups that are particularly soft? If there were group or programmatic issues, resolve the problems and 'market' those changes to the involved families.

Do you want motivation to take this advice? Then you should know that these very simple steps have helped clients increase retention from 3-5%. Go for it!!!

Joanna

Need an objective perspective on any aspect of camp? Give me a call at 310-451-1876 or email campconsulting@verizon.net

S.T.A.N.D. Leadership - Never Miss an Opportunity to Pay a Kindness

Travis Allison December 13, 2013

What it’s like when people are kind and thoughtful and filled with joy

What a perfect time of year to be writing about this day of S.T.A.N.D.. Although it happened many months ago on a sufferably hot August day, much of what occurred is happening all around me right now.

I wanted to get the campers and staff into the mindset of what it’s like when people are kind and thoughtful and filled with joy. I could have used any number of celebrations but, as Cairn is a Christian camp, I chose to celebrate Christmas with them. I wanted them to think about family and dear friends gathered today, wonderful aromas coming from the kitchen, decorations sparkling on the tree, familiar and favourite music all around them, and the feeling of joy and peace they have for all humankind at Christmas.

When I drove to the camp the Friday before, I shared my air-conditioned car with many of my own Christmas decorations for the long 3 ½ hour ride to Muskoka. As the campers gathered outside the lodge for our morning session, already sweating in the morning sun of that humid August day, they had no idea that the dining hall would look like a winter wonderland. We had decorated with ornaments, bells, Santa’s, snowmen, garlands, and a nativity scene. We even had a tree with a golden star and it’s very own tree skirt. The kitchen staff had prepared hot chocolate for all and the wonderful special needs adult team had baked Christmas cookies! The decorations were out on benches that corralled the teens into the centre of the room in a nice cozy group focused on the tree.

As always, the teens lined up in cabin groups outside and, with my signal. entered the room in silence listening to the song of the day. This morning one of my favourite Christmas CD’s by the Indigo Girls was playing. As the campers sat squished together on the floor, I joyfully announced that we would be celebrating Christmas. I had the hot chocolate brought out on trays and the beautifully decorated cookies passed out. I encouraged them to share with one another their favourite Christmas traditions and what made the celebration so special and meaningful to them. The room was...very quiet...and hot...really hot.

I had forgotten one of my own golden rules: “people before program”. I was so excited to share with them my own favourite time of year and to get them into that wonderful spirit that I ignored the elements and the comfort of the participants. They would much rather have been spread out in the shade with cool glasses of water or, better yet, in the lake. Even as a team of carollers strolled the room while singing the most cherished Christmas hymns in 4 part harmony, the teens seemed thoroughly unimpressed. The carollers, such dedicated staff members, had even dressed the part and were just dripping with sweat.

As we collected the mugs (not many of them empty), I began to ask the teens and staff to share their treasured Christmas moments with the whole group. Many of the staff members were helpful in getting the discussion going. Listening to the shared traditions began to lift the mood and folks began to smile and nod in understanding. I had thankfully salvaged some of what I had tried to create.

We talked about how their worlds are different at Christmas time. We shared how people seem kinder, gentler, more ready to speak to strangers and wish them well. As we delved into today’s “World Vision”, we discussed what our world would look like if every day was Christmas day. We ended off this time of sharing by asking ourselves why we don’t treat one another with this kindness and thoughtfulness every day.

It was time to get them up and moving. Once again, I paired them with a new cabin group and they shook hands with one another and introduced themselves. I was thrilled to note today that I didn’t even need to ask them to do this but they started all on their own. Each new grouping became a team and, today and on purpose, they were made up of one male and one female cabin. I had them run a relay race in which the first person ran to the other side of the room, left his or her shoes and ran back to the back of their line. The next person then ran to the shoes, took off his or her own, put on the first person’s shoes (as best they could) and ran back. This continued until the last person returned and sat down. Pairing them as male and female cabins got a great mixture of feet sizes! Some found it quite difficult to run in shoes either far too small or far too big.

Of course we debriefed the activity. It did not take them long to get to the point of the exercise. Everyone has a different walk in life and sometimes we need to understand other's situations in order to show them kindness and goodness. Sometimes we need to “walk a mile in another’s shoes”.

Under the tree, there was a gift for each cabin. They were beautifully wrapped and loving prepared by members of the senior staff. At Cairn, program staff and leadership team members have the opportunity to be “grandparents”. They are given a cabin group and get to visit, have the occasional meal with, say goodnight, and generally spoil the campers. And, just like grandparents, they leave the disciplining to the “parents” or counsellors but are there to offer advice and support. I had asked the “grandparents” to write a letter to their cabin group days before. It was to be a letter highlighting what they appreciated about each person and outlining their hopes and dreams for them all. I asked one person from each cabin to get their gift from the tree and to go back to their cabin group, circle up and have one volunteer open the gift and share it with the others. I asked them to do it quietly so as to be respectful to all those others reading in the room at the same time. While they opened their gifts and read their letters, another Christmas hymn played.

I was hoping the gift would have several effects; I wanted them to have that warm and wonderful feeling from hearing someone they admired and respected say such kind and thoughtful things and I hoped they would see that it did not take a physical item to be a wonderful gift. It was very fulfilling to watch their faces as the letters were read.

We came together again and shared ways in which we can begin to be kind to others right here and now. The campers decided that huge extravagant means are not necessary to be kind and generous. We discussed that there are 2 types of people in the world - the I-centred, me-first people and the others-centred people. I asked them 2 questions: which kind of person are you? Which kind of person would you like to be? We ended this group chat with the idea that if one person has the courage to care perhaps others will be inspired to care too and what amazing changes we could see in the world.

As usual, I had planned far too many activities for the hour but had time for 1 more. I asked them to decide what gift they had to give. What could they put out there and share with the world. In silence they wrote a letter to God and promised to share their gift. The carollers sang in the background as they wrote and, one by one, the campers came to the tree and put their gifts in a box with a gift tag made out to God. They were assured no one would ever read what they had written.

As they ended their morning session, they turned to one another, wished each other well, and headed out. As they left the dining hall, I handed each cabin group a note asking them to give a gift to another cabin sometime during the day (I made sure to name the cabin to be certain each group would receive something).

With lessons learned (by all of us) and hearts filled, these kind and wonderful campers went out to face the day - caring for one another, treating each other with respect and dignity, and doing their best to stay cool!

Happy Holidays To You All

At this time of year, I wish you all a joyous season. No matter what you celebrate this time of year, may you and your family and friends set aside time to gather, share fellowship, laughter, and memories, count your blessings and be kind to all you meet. Any may you carry that feeling with you all year round.

Until next time...

Showing Families the Value of Your Camp

Travis Allison December 9, 2013

Get "Social Proof" of what kids learn at summer camp

Summer Camp Counsellors impacting the lives of campers.  Photo: Travis Allison — Summer Camp Counsellors impacting the lives of campers. Photo: Travis Allison

This morning I received a great email from one of our CampHacker Patreon supporters. I thought it would be valuable to everyone if I shared my answers on the blog. I've been covering this topic a lot this year in presentations and webinars but I figure it's worth getting it down in text, too.

Question About Creating Marketing Content:

I'm interested in learning about content. I think I can get staff and campers to send me things but I'm wondering what I should be asking them for?, favorite camp memory?, best laugh at camp?, what i learned?, favorite meal?, favorite activity?, why i love our camp?, why counselors return? I guess there are a ton of things we can go for, and would love some feedback and ideas.

You'll get good ideas from Blake Sunshine's portion of our Facebook Webinar about advertising. I believe you can get a lot more mileage out of Facebook ads then you can on Google or print advertising.

All of those things (in your question) are great to ask for from campers and staff. Of course you can't overwhelm them with "asks".

Here's how I think I would handle it: Create a contest for campers (use marketing money to create 2 free session spaces + camp t-shirts) that asks them to submit a short video explaining what has changed in their life because of camp. You can use Facebook software to set up a voting system or the videos could be judged by camp alumni. Either way you should marketing the contest with Facebook ads, photos/links in your Twitter & Instagram and with several emails out to the families in your database.

All of the other questions should go out once a week or every other week as a question on your Facebook page (make sure each one is written in text over a compelling picture from your camp). That will get you lots of response.

If you want to make sure you get the widest possible spread I would send those questions out to your Alumni database as well.

The Most Powerful Question You Can Ask A Parent

I have been talking this year about the question that I feel can have the greatest impact on reaching new parents: What changes have you seen in your child because of our camp?

I invite you to send that out as a 1 question survey to Parents. Their answers (if you are doing your job right) will be incredibly powerful to new parents.

Every parent wants to know that the experiences they pay for will have a positive impact on their child.