The Power of Your Alumni Community - CampHacker #183

Do you wish your camp had the benefits of an engaged alumni community?

It’s a gift to have a group of people that intimately “get” what your camp is all about.

And, alumni can be like getting a gym membership or Ikea furniture as a gift. Ultimately useful, but a crap-ton of work to get there.

Once you’ve got it going, alumni can be an excellent and cost-effective source of staff support, mentorship, maintenance, marketing, board guidance, fundraising and more!

So how do you get to the useful point.

The CampHacker team is here, and specifically, you need to listen to what Gabz has to say in this episode. Camp Ouareau has put in the work to not just open its doors wide to alumni, but to specifically direct them to a place that is available to them either as a supporter of camp, or someone who just wants to enjoy the nostalgia.

(Chris, Joe and Travis all have incredible points, too, of course!)

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New Career or New Camp - Our Best Advice - with Dan Weir - CampHacker #182

What would we do if we were starting at a completely new to us summer camp?

We’re so grateful to have one of our founding CampHacker hosts Dan Weir join us this episode. Welcome back, Dan!

To support the vast number of new camp directors in the last few years, Dan, Chris, Joe and Travis engage in a thought exercise to put take all the knowledge they have now and plopped themselves in a new camp.

This isn’t just an episode for newbies! Having this “newbie” mindset will consistently keep you nimble to the changing landscape of the industry and open to change.

Also, want some help getting there? You should consider a consultant.

Dan, Chris and Travis are great assets for your camp. Check out the host links below.

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Summer Staff and Reasonable Boundaries - CampHacker #181

How much do we really need to accommodate this generation of camp staff?

Okay, that header is a little misleading.

Don’t mistake this podcast for one big “okay boomer” rant. This conversation about summer staff and meeting them where they are at (to an extent) is an important one.

If “triggering” a staff member is something you’re worried about. Or staff feeling overwhelmed is something you’re bracing yourself for this summer, this is the episode for you.

Chris, Gabz, Joe and Travis are here to challenge you (and your staff) to think differently when it comes to helping staff set healthy and realistic emotional boundaries.

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Partnering with Parents in 2023 - with Jolly Corley - CampHacker #180

We also need to adapt to post-pandemic parents!

We need to adapt a whole lot as camp directors.

On the checklist of “things we need to re-assess every 5 or so years”, parents are certainly on that list.

As the majority of our camper parents start to shift toward the majority being millennials, we need to re-think how we are meeting them where they are at. Systems of communication, expectation-building, community-building and trust are all things that we have control over in this special relationship, and one that we need to pay attention to.

Joining the regular panel is returning guest Jolly Corley, a camp pro and parent partner expert to weigh in on re-evaluating this post-pandemic group.

Tool of the Week – Make Yourself a Better Camp Director

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Wouldn’t it be refreshing if your registration software gave you MORE time? With UltraCamp, you can track attendance, manage staff applications, streamline registration, and much more. Get back the time you need to focus on what is really important: CAMP! Find out more at summercampsoftware.com/camphacker