Step into any summer camp in the country during the months of July and August and you’ll see something crazy. Groups of kids (gasp) walking, talking, running, laughing together. It shouldn’t feel like some outlier outcome. But it’s increasingly so. Kids are more connected digitally than ever. More group chats. More likes and reactions. More ways to reach each other instantly. And also, lonelier than they’ve ever been. Meeting someone has always taken a certain amount of courage. But screen...
12 days ago • 3 min read
Parents want confident kids. So they sign those same kids up for activities, praise effort, and celebrate small wins. But confidence isn’t built through praise. Confidence comes from knowing you matter. From feeling needed. From contributing something real. Kids are struggling with confidence because they’re missing purpose. This is part 2 in our series on what camp does better than the alternatives consuming family calendars and budgets. Part 1 covered leadership development [Link]....
19 days ago • 3 min read
Parents want kids who can lead. Handle pressure. Make good decisions. Advocate for themselves. But the word “Leadership” gets thrown around so much that it barely means anything anymore. Youth sports programs promise leadership development. So do academic programs. Even some video games claim to build leadership skills. The thing is though, that leadership isn’t vague. The steps to build it are crystal clear. And camp delivers those steps better than almost any other youth environment. This...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Twenty years ago (and of course longer), college students met their roommates on move-in day. Showed up with boxes. Shook hands. Figured it out. Today? Students find each other on social media months before arrival. They text. They follow each other. They’re already friends before walking in the door. Camp staff are no different. Showing up to a place with no idea what’s going on used to be normal. Not anymore. The Two Things Staff Need Before Summer Staff have two fundamental needs between...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
December 26th. Kids are home from school. The house looks like a holiday bomb went off. Everyone’s tired of one too many board games and way too much screen time. Parents start thinking: “Um, we need a plan for summer.” And like clockwork, they open Google and search “summer camp.” The data proves it. The Graph Google Trends data for “summer camp” searches over the past couple of weeks and the last five years. Every single year, the pattern repeats. Flat through fall and early winter. Then...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
A camp director sat across from a career coach, explaining their experience. The coach interrupted: “There’s no way you have this much range.” She thought the director was exaggerating. Maybe lying. So she tested it. Asked detailed questions about each domain. Facilities. Budgeting. Fundraising. Staff training. Human resources. Crisis management. Project management. Campfire songs (Kidding, not that one. But you get it.) Every answer checked out. The range was real. This very real moment...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Is your camp safe? Camp directors, owners, and boards know exactly what I’m talking about here. Of course, I’m not asking expressly. This is probably one of the number one questions parents are asking when considering a camp. And they are right to ask. Surveying and talking to families, safety concerns were the #1 factor in choosing overnight camps. #2 for day camps right after location. Safety outpaces activities, program quality, reputation, and affordability. This was staggering. But...
2 months ago • 2 min read
Camps are competing with a $40 billion industry. Not other camps. Not enrichment programs. Not Disney World. Youth travel and competitive sports. This number keeps growing. The infrastructure keeps expanding. And parents keep choosing sports over summer camp, often spending three to five times as much. The irony? Parents are choosing sports for exactly the things camps do better. What Parents Say They Want We survey families year in and year out about what they look for in their kids’...
2 months ago • 3 min read
Sounds obvious, right? I shouldn’t even have to say this. But so many camps struggle to answer this clearly. They know what activities they offer. They know their schedule. They can tell parents about facilities and staff ratios. Ask them “Who are you? What makes you different?” and the answer gets fuzzy. Clear identity means campers want to come back summer after summer. The Retention Paradox A summer camp approached us with a puzzle. Program quality was extraordinary. Survey results showed...
2 months ago • 2 min read