|
 Colleagues
in Youth Development:
This is the time when we can't wait
for camp to begin (all of our great plans
are just waiting for the final ingredient—campers),
or we wish for one more day or week to
fill in the final details (last staff person,
final touches on new or renewed cabin,
etc). The magic begins when the
first camper meets your eager staff, and
they start on the great adventure of
growing into their next stage of development
this summer. May all your dreams
be realized!
We are engaged in this profession because
we have benefited ourselves or we have
seen phenomenal growth in others. Seeing
that growth occur each year gives
us great energy and creativity. This
change is possible because we provide more
than recreation; we also provide a focus
on youth development, including our contributions
to human connections, experiences in human-powered
activities, and increased awareness of
nature. Check out the ACA resources
that will strengthen the work your staff
will do to maximize this growth: ACA's
e-Institute,
the ACA
Bookstore, ACA's Green
Spoken Here initiative, and much
more can be found on ACA's
Web site.
You may be confident of full enrollment
or wonder where the last few campers can
be found to fill your cabins, but remember
that only 20 percent of children of camp
age will experience camp this summer. If
your enrollment has reached capacity, help
interested families find an alternative
camp experience. If you are not
quite at full enrollment, think of improved
messages and avenues to tell your story
to campers and parents. As we work
toward 20 million campers and 20,000 participants
in ACA by 2020, we need to share our secret
of human development with more campers
and families.
Ask what you can do to help neighboring
camps increase our service to children,
youth, and adults. One group of camps
are in touch enough that when a fire consumed
one dining hall, neighboring camps fed
the displaced campers until emergency arrangements
could be made. Another
camp shares its used equipment with a neighboring
nonprofit camp. And, there are many
county, area, or regional camp groups that
provide fellowship and mutual aid. Who
could you help?
Happy and safe camping this summer.
Peter Surgenor
ACA President
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